PROTECTIONS AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE OF THE CHILD:-
INTRODUCTION:- Juvenile Justice Act has been enacted for the protection of the child & doing justice to the children. Recently some cases have come to notice in Delhi where the children kept in some private run orphanages have been subjected to sexual use. Such orphanages are not even registered under the Juvenile Justice Act in the absence of which , it was not possible to take any legal action against the management of such orphanages. There are some 30 unregistered orphanages running in Delhi. Problems faced with such Orphanages are:-
1. Overcrowding with more than 1000 children & there is need to decongest the same.
2. Need to have a Counsellor to take care of the problems faced by the Juveniles kept in the Orphanages.
3. No separation between Boy’s Home and the Girl’s Home.
4. Need to shift some of the children who had admitted to being sexually assaulted, to the Govt. run orphanages.
5. An immediate serious follow-up of the troubled cases by the Child welfare Department.
6. Compulsory registration of the Orphanages.
7. Protection of the sexually assaulted juveniles sharing crucial evidence.
8. Harsh punishment of those involved in sex with juveniles. Any leniency in sentence has an adverse effect on the Society & there will be no deterrence against repetition of such crimes.
9. Mandatory for the Organizers of the Orphanages to report the matters of sexual abuse to the Police.
10. Not to register the children as orphans who have a living parent.
11. Need of medical care against levels of depression of orphans sexually assaulted.
12. Safeguards against physical and sexual violence of the orphans kept in the orphans.
13. Co-operation from the orphanage through the investigation.
CONCLUSION:- Most of the private-run Orphanages do not accept such sort of occurrences of sexual abuse of the inmates of the orphanages. They only admit the known cases of eve-teasing only but not the cases of sexual assault except the one reported recently. A strong vigil is required over doubtful Orphanages. The Govt. and the NGOs must do the needful to the cause so that such acts of sexual abuse are not repeated in future. Laws are to be strengthened and punishments to be made stringent to put a curb on such acts or complete eradication of the evil from the Orphanages where the Orphans are given shelter for protection and not for sexual use. A big social harm is done to Society by repetition of such acts.