Why is it in the news?
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A special court for the trial of offences under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, set up in April this year awarded convictions in 18 POCSO cases.
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Among the 18 cases, four were awarded life sentences for their extreme act of abuse.
More in the news
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Followings are some of the instances in which the conviction was awarded by the child-friendly court:An autorickshaw driver in his early 50s was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl from Bownepally.
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In another case, a man who raped his 13-year-old daughter was sentenced to life imprisonment by a child-friendly court at Bharosa centre.
Child Abuse in India
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A centrally-sponsored survey has found that more than 53 per cent children in the country faced one or more forms of sexual abuse
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This menace of child sexual abuse, rape, violence against children, and child trafficking is growing and has become a moral epidemic
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Children are not safe in schools, at home and in public spaces.
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Sadly, in most cases, they don’t speak up under the garb of honour, respect and dignity
POCSO and Child-friendly court
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The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years.
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The Act provides protection to all children under the age of 18 years from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.
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The Act incorporates child friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offences.
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Thus, the special courts(Child friendly) for the trial of offences under POCSO Act had been set up.
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The state-of-art court has all the required facilities in order to make the child feel comfortable and at ease to speak to the judge and advocates.
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Apart from the innovative and child-friendly court hall, the court comprises special room for the victims with video conference facility and a separate room for the accused.
Source
The Hindu, Indian Express.