POCSO Act

An Act to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of Special Courts for trial of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. With the intent to effectively address the evil of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was passed by the parliament in the year 2012.

POCSO Act – General Principles

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act UPSC) mentions 12 key principles which are to be followed by anyone, including the State Governments, the Child Welfare Committee, the Police, the Special Courts, NGOs or any other professional present during the trial and assisting the child during the trial.

These include:

1.Right to life and survival – A child must be shielded from any kind of physical, psychological, mental and emotional abuse and neglect
2.Best interests of the child – The primary consideration must be the harmonious development of the child
3.Right to be treated with dignity and compassion – Child victims should be treated in a caring and sensitive manner throughout the justice process
4.Right to be protected from discrimination – The justice process must be transparent and just; irrespective of the child’s cultural, religious, linguistic or social orientation
5.Right to special preventive measures – It suggests, that victimised children are more likely to get abused again, thus, preventive measures and training must be given to them for self-protection
6.Right to be informed – The child victim or witness must be well informed of the legal proceedings
7.Right to be heard and to express views and concerns – Every child has the right to be heard in respect of matters affecting him/her
8.Right to effective assistance – financial, legal, counselling, health, social and educational services, physical and psychological recovery services and other services necessary for the child‟s healing must be provided
9.Right to Privacy – The child‟s privacy and identity must be protected at all stages of the pre-trial and trial process
10.Right to be protected from hardship during the justice process – Secondary victimisation or hardships for a child during the justice procedure must be minimised
11.Right to safety – A child victim must be protected before, during and after the justice process
12.Right to compensation – The child victim may be awarded compensation for his/her relief and rehabilitation

Guidelines    Click here

Vishaka Act

The Vishaka Guidelines were a set of procedural guidelines for use in India in cases of sexual harassment. They were promulgated by theIndian Supreme Court in 1997 and were superseded in 2013 by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act. The Vishakha guidelines were introduced to protect women in the workplace. They were established by the Supreme Court of India in 1997 following multiple Public Interest Litigations filed in response to the Bhanwari Devi case judgment. These guidelines outline the procedure to be followed in cases of sexual harassment at the workplace. Prior to their implementation, the legal system in our country was inadequate in providing sufficient safety measures for women in the workplace, as there was no legislation in place to ensure their protection. The objective of the Vishakha guidelines was to impose an obligation on employers to provide assistance to victims of sexual harassment and prevent them from terminating the employment of such victims to evade liability.

VISHAKA GUIDELINES

The key features of the Vishakha guidelines include:

1.Creating a safer working environment.
2.Imposing the duty on employers to file a complaint in cases of sexual harassment.
3.Establishment of a redressal committee.
4.Increasing awareness among employers about sexual harassment.

Guidelines    Click here