Category: Women and children

Role of Teachers in POCSO Act, 2012

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In a survey that was conducted by the Women and Child Development (WCD) in the year 2007 had shocking revelations for India. The survey showed that 53.22 % children reported having faced some form of sexual abuse in which 52.94% were boys and 47.06% girls. And about 69.0 % of children that were surveyed went through one or more forms of physical abuse[1].

Now, the perpetrators could the parents, family members, neighbours, teachers or an unknown person but mostly the perpetrator was a person who had authority over the child. Another disturbing fact that the child feared to report the abuse because of the fear of social stigma, fear that the person would accuse the child instead or some other factor that would not be in favour of the child or the family.

Authorities in schools, especially teachers, play a major role in a child’s life. That’s why when Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was passed in the year 2012, Section 5 (f)[2] and Section 9 (f)[3] included anyone being on the management or staff of an educational institution to have been committed an aggravated form of sexual assault.

A child starts to spend half of his or her days in a school by the age of seven. Now teachers should maintain a clear and open communication line with the children so that in case of any incident the child is not in fear to report it. Now the management also should take in mind that the child also can be abused by the authority of the teacher has over the child. Thereby the authorities also should have counsellors to whom the children can feel free to approach. A teacher should always remember that just as a child spends a lot of time with the parents so does the child with the teacher.

Various guidelines regarding the same have been passed on to schools since then, the major one is the POCSO circular, 2015 by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).  The circular points out how the child deserves the right to access an environment that is safe, protective and conducive to overall development[4]. Major guidelines expected by the schools to follow were –

  1. The teachers, management and all the employees were bound by the Act[5] that they had to report any instance of child abuse as in Section 19(1) and 21.
  2. In-house induction sessions should be held with a module on gender sensitization. Every person who works in the school or in management or owners of the school should be told about the punishment which is higher as per the provisions of the Act. Teachers, in general, should be trained to handle when a child reports such a case and what should be done. Teachers should also have a close observation performance and psychological behaviour of the students as most of the times signs include sudden disinterest on the part of the children in participating or disinterest to study etc. The school management is also required to create awareness programs and necessary workshops from time to time as averting such offences is the primary aim of the management.
  3. The classes and the school in entirety should promote harmonious environment and inclusiveness.
  4. In Residential Schools training programs should be provided to the wardens and personal care and guidance to the girl children with a female matron for their dormitories.
  5. School Complaints Committee consisting of Principal/Vice- Principal, one male teacher, one female teacher, one female student, one male student and one non-teaching staff member must be set up to serve as complaints and Redressal body. An improved response system and alert administrative machinery are required to take immediate action on reported cases of misbehaviour. Also, suggestion/complain box should be provided in each school and any time a complainant on sexual offence is received the same should be acted upon immediately. The school should have CCTV cameras in main areas.
  6. Informal conversations should be held in form of discussions or activities or by observations with the students which can be helpful to notice if something is alarming.

By this, we can conclude that teachers may not able to stop such offences completely but may be able to reduce such offences and also bring the offenders in the light of law. Rather than waiting for some heinous crime to take place, it is the duty of every citizen to give every child an environment in which the child can grow mentally and physically without any fear. It is the right of every child.

[1] Study on Child Abuse INDIA 2007

[2] Section 5(f) – Aggravated penetrative sexual assault POCSO 2012

[3] Section 9(f) –Aggravated sexual assault POCSO 2012

[4] CBSE Circular Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) 2012

[5] POCSO, 2012

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anita Thomas

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Anita Thomas is currently pursuing her third-year BBA LLB at Symbiosis Law School. She has a passion for research work and paper presentations. Her main area of interest is Family law and wants to advocate more in the area of Child rights. She also wants to learn more about Media law and work in a production house one day.

Child Labour: A Turpitude in Child’s Life

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Child labour is an international concern which not only spoils the future of those kids but brings them to the door of adversity and despair. A child at his tender age should be endowed with love, care and a fortuity to learn. Instead of training these young minds to fill their pockets they should be given an opportunity to shape their naïve minds with the tool of education. India has been a centre of child labour for decades. The world has been facing the problem of child labour since centuries and after the era of industrialization, there was a rapid increase in the exploitation of child rights.

Indian law accommodates multi-fold principles for curing this poison of society. Despite innumerable legislations and mandates, child labour still seems like an exuberant. One in every eleven children in India is working, and the concentrated states in India for child labour are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. 80% of working children are mainly based in rural areas and three out of four are working in the field of agriculture.

Reasons for this forced work is not just the greed of parents to earn money for their children. There are sour realities behind, which compel small kids to leave their priceless childhood for the sake of earning few meals for themselves and their families. Most children suffer from this anguish due to the family indebtedness or lack of livelihood options or poverty.  The increased sympathy towards child workers tends to accelerate the pace of child trafficking for trafficked work. Children are an easy prey of this copious because the payment made to a child is much lower than the payment made to an adult for the same work.

Child labour is not consistent and steady. It changes with the change in society. Due to rapid change in legislation and growth of laws, child labour has become more of a hidden crime. Children are more often found working in households rather than seen working in factories and industries. There is no documentation or registration done for these kids as the workers of any industry due to the presence of strict laws. But child labour in unregistered format does not put an end to it.

There is not just one legislation, there are dozens of laws which keep an eye on child labour in India.  The related and relevant legislations are; Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, National Policy on Child Labour; Juvenile Justice Act; The Right to Education, etc. UNICEF has been working for a long time against child labour by spreading the message and strengthening child protection systems.

Child labour in India has become more gender-specific, girls are more into domestic work while boys are more seen to be employed in factories and as a wage labour. The working hour and the workload duration increases as children grow older. Child labour is facing a huge problem due to its complexity and unawareness of people. Children in India are often found as rag pickers, newspaper hawkers, selling gloomy stuff at the roadside and on signals, working as a helper in restaurants and food corners; for which they are paid a meagre sum of money.

It isn’t always the fact that those children choose to work or they are forced into it and they imperiously do it. Kids at this delicate age do not realize the importance of education and knowledge. They should be dispensed with just and a decent avenue towards education. Adults and child’s caregiver should understand that those little hands are not meant to work, those tiny eyes are full of dreams and imagination, they get paid at the cost of their future and the tears they shed. Kids are not driven to this adversity because of fate and poverty, unawareness is the reason for it.

Talking to a cleaner Awanti, who lives in the slums near Gwalior City Centre, her 9-year daughter Riddhi accompanies her to her workplace. She says her son goes to school, which is why she cannot afford to send her daughter to school. The lack of understanding about family planning and unawareness about the impact of lack of education leads to this situation. Unknowingly, Awanti is pushing her daughter in the zone of education deprives.

Curtailing child labour is not just the duty of government but is a moral responsibility of every citizen of this country and of the globe. Awareness and knowledge is the only key which can stop this evil from expanding its vicinity, laws and regulations are needed when morality is harmed. If masses understand the need to protect a child’s tomorrow then prerequisite of laws is not needed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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YOGRICHA VERMA

Yogricha Verma, a fourth-year law student at Amity Law School, Amity University Madhya Pradesh, is also a student of Company Secretary under ICSI. She is a student member of Indian National Bar Association (INBA) and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). Her native is Bhopal, India. She is also a freelancer and an artist and loves to do social works.

Pride and Dignity: Women at workplace

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In the era of globalization, modernization, and rationalization, one thing which is most applauded about is women empowerment. International leaders, celebrities, politicians, youth, and even the laymen talk about the blurring gap between men and women and uplifting women, not only socially but politically as well as economically.  But the irony is, it is all loose talk in the air, because when the time comes to execute it practically, women are always portrayed as weaklings, needing male support at all times.

The esteemed workplace where she can prove herself itself becomes the place where her wings get clipped. The question which arises is, what stops her in her workplace to work efficiently? What stops her to work freely without fear? The answer is, unfortunately, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORKPLACE. Statistics show seven out of ten women are sexually harassed at the workplace. Around ninety percent women are not aware how to deal with the situation or what can be done to stop it or is there any way out? Fortunately, the answer to all these questions is, YES! And the credit for such steps goes to the judiciary as well as the government of India. Now, what is needed is generating awareness among women as well as people regarding prevention of sexual harassment at workplace.

The Supreme court in Vishaka & others versus State of Rajasthan and others laid down guidelines directing that these guidelines would be strictly observed in all workplaces for enforcement of gender equality of women at the workplace.

The facts of the case were, there was a writ petition filed by some social activists with the aim of bringing the attention towards growing incidents of sexual harassment at workplace. It was aimed at preventing sexual harassment at workplace by laying down certain guidelines.

But the immediate cause for filing such petition was the gangrape of a social worker in a village in Rajasthan. It was contended that sexual harassment leads to violation of fundamental rights under Art. 14 (equality before law), Art. 15 (Prohibition of discrimination), and Art 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of a woman. But by laying down necessary directions court had endeavoured to ensure “A safe working environment to women”. The court even directed central as well as state governments to consider the appropriate legislation for the same.

The second step was the Sexual harassment of women at workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) act 2013 [SHW ACT]. The act defines sexual harassment as ANY Unwelcome sexually determined behaviour, and demands, from male employees at the workplace, which includes:

    • any physical contacts and advances
    • sexually coloured remarks
    • showing pornography
    • passing lewd comments or gestures
    • sexual demands.

It mandates all the employers to constitute an INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE [ICC] at each office or branch with ten or more employees and requires fifty percent should be women.  It requires time-bound redressal of complaints which should be confidential. It requires employers to conduct education and sensitization programs and provide a safe working environment.

The other initiative was Justice Verma committee; it recommended Employment Tribunal comprising two retired judges, two sociologists and a social activist to obviate the need of ICC which was not functioning as it was intended.

The latest and the most technically efficient initiative the government has launched is the SHE BOX (sexual harassment electronic box). Recently government launched an online platform, which will enable women employees to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.

This online initiative seeks to ensure effective implementation of SHW act 2013. Once a complaint is submitted to the portal, it will be directly sent to the ICC of the concerned ministry or department.

The SHE BOX will cater effective and immediate and speedier remedy to women facing sexual harassment as well it will help the complainant to monitor the progress of the inquiry.

Currently, the complaint can be filed by central government employees only, which will later be extended to all. Under the vision of digital India program, it will help in achieving the goal of gender equality and women empowerment.

Barack Obama once quoted, “A country’s progress and future depend upon how we treat our women and girls”. Let us ensure that women can live their dreams, by ensuring a safe work environment at the workplace where they can work in par with their male counterparts with no obstacles coming in their way, and appreciation coming their way for achievements.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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DEEKSHA KATHAYAT

Deeksha Kathayat is currently pursuing BLS LLB (third-year) from Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Law. An enthusiast debater and avid mooter, she’s into occasions where she can express her views on various issues. She believes that we realize the importance of our voice only when we are silenced. An aspiring bureaucrat, she describes herself as Unstoppable, Unconstrained, and Zealous.

Section 498A IPC – The Illusion of Misuse

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In the matter of “Rajesh Sharma and Ors Vs. the State of Uttar Pradesh”, the Supreme Court on 27th July, said that there will not be a “normal arrest” of the accused without probing the veracity of the complaint. Previously, in a similar case of Arnesh Kumar Vs the State of Bihar in 2014, the Supreme Court, to protect the human rights of the “innocents”, had restrained the police to directly arrest the accused without proper investigation. Taking the purview of the misuse of the section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, Supreme Court held that a “Family Welfare Committee” will be constituted by District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) in every district and the complaints received by the police or magistrate will be referred to this committee. The members of this committee will be social workers, the wives of working officials, paralegal volunteers, social workers, and anyone who is willing and competent. The committee is supposed to submit a report of the case to an investigating officer within one month from the date of receipt of the complaint.

According to the data from National Crime Record Bureau (2015), out of all cases registered under section 498A of domestic and sexual violence, only fifteen percent have been reported in which the accused is convicted. This data to some extent shows the misuse of section 498-A by women. But the data does not provide a holistic picture because there may be different reasons for the acquittal of the accused like improper investigation by the investigating officer, some mid-way settlement, threatening the complainant or the witnesses, etc. So, the data itself is neither comprehensive nor conspicuous.

This move by the Supreme Court has been criticised by the women activists groups as containing an ingrained bias that women misuse the law. While according to the data by National Family Health Survey-3 fifty-three percent of the victims of some sort of sexual or physical violence have never gone to the police and out the forty-seven percent who have sought help of the police, only two percent have filed a First Information Report (FIR) while the remaining have just registered it as a Non-cognizable offence.

In this case, the Supreme Court has seen just one side of the coin while the other remains hidden beneath. This judgement also curtails the powers of the police and only after the review by the “Family Welfare Committee”, can police take any action. Thus, this also creates a virtual justice dispensation system.

The fact the entire process of a full one-month review of the case by the committee is also a problem for the victims of serious sexual or domestic violence. This will delay the justice delivery process and can even cause more sabotage. The victim could be pressurised to withdraw or threatened which again questions the very purpose for which section 498-A was added to the Indian Penal Code.

Also, the rate of conviction is low in nearly all the cases so Supreme Court must rethink considering the damage it would cause to the real victim. This judgement opens the scope of further misuse of the law if not by women, then men. As many are already sceptical of the effectiveness of the judgement, it may delve a victim into the labyrinth of a breakdown if justice is not provided at the appropriate time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ashish lD

ASHISH KUMAR YADAV

Ashish is an undergraduate student at Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi. The institution has a Meta College concept and focuses on an interdisciplinary approach.  He is the co-founder of two non-profit ventures, one of which deals with education and the other in enhancing scientific communication among the masses. He has done three research projects at Cluster Innovation Centre the first aimed to create a prototype of full-fledged Hindi dictionary and another on the Study of a community’s cultural tradition (Banjara community). The third project was Hafta bazaar aimed to digitalize and study the various weekly markets in Delhi. He is quite ardent in the field of economics and journalism and is intrigued by topics from digital marketing to management, which are reflected in his undergraduate studies. He was also a part of a report published on education.

Women in Politics: Overcoming the Gender Disparity

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Gender disparity is described as the idea or perception that individual is unequally treated wholly or partly due to their gender.[1] It is rather influenced by gender stereotypes and perceptions which are usually passed from one individual to another which usually begins from an early age. This disparity has rather caused a hindrance to many women around the world especially those venturing in the male dominated positions: for instance, politics.

Politics have been dominated by male figures for over many years now and recently many more women have emerged and proved to be able to also dominate in this environment. However, it has never been an easy road for these women; as they are faced with both cultural and structural barriers.

These barriers have acted as a bar towards minimizing the gender gap in politics. Moreover, despite a great number of efforts made by leaders towards understanding and minimizing the gender gap and also increasing women’s political power in this field; women still remain the highest rated marginalized group. This explains why there is a scarcity of female candidates and elected officials.

Furthermore, it also challenges the rights of women, their liberty, and freedom; also imposes a stumbling block in nurturing and empowering women into taking leadership roles. Though there may be challenges, more and more women are rising; taking a bold step in becoming political leaders, government officials and this tendency is still persistent. Rwanda is one of the countries with the highest women officials who are political leaders, government officials around the world leading to the increase of gender equality within the country. This is a clear indicator to other states that women can also contribute to the political field of the state and also a transparent way of empowering women.

The notion of women empowerment is a crucial and rooted concept which all head of states should take with urgency. This can be done in various ways such as implementing International human rights standard within their constitutional boundaries, encouraging more women in the political fields etc. That is why the United Nations came up with avenues that would increase and strengthen the women’s participation in politics. These include: equalization of educational opportunities, quotas for female participation in governing bodies legislative reforms to increase focus on issues concerning women and children, financing gender-responsive budgets to equally take into account the needs of women and men.

The above avenues can only strengthen and increase female participation if only countries equally implement these avenues transparently. However, heads of states should not only dwell on the mentioned avenues, another strategy could be holding summits; which are primarily focused on discussing ways in which women can be strengthened in the political era. Holding such can help women already in the political fields share ideas, experiences with other women so as to break free from all the barriers or chains holding women back from continuing in the political field. Just as Nelson Mandela said; ‘freedom can be achieved if women are emancipated from all forms of discrimination’, this also includes gender disparity. Gender equality is a strategic way to freedom. Women should not be tolerated but rather accepted.

Bibliography

[1] Gender equality. Wikipedia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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LESEGO GAETWESEPE

Lesego Gaetwesepe is a law graduate and she is intrinsically passionate about human rights, community building and empowering young people. She is a participant at the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Southern Africa and was also part of the #ageofconsent project. She was also part of a project facilitated by NACA (NATIONAL AIDS COORDINATING AGENCY). Ms Lesego is currently a volunteer at Gogontlejang Phaladi Pillar of Hope Project and also represents the organisation at the UNESCO Pan African Youth Network for building a Culture of Peace, and she is also taking up training as an ASFL (African Students for Liberty) Local Coordinator.

 

Women and the Law

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The status of women has been subject to many radical changes in the past few decades. With decline in their status from ancient to medieval period to demand of equal rights by reformers, the history of women in India has indeed been eventful.

In a sovereign civilized state, laws hold the primary position. Therefore it would be quite true to say that legislations have played a very pivotal role in the transformation of this status.

It all started right before independence with the enactment of Prevention of Sati Act 1829 which was then followed by various other laws. Post independence, the hopes began to rise. India’s constitution and the founding fathers were determined to ensure equality in general and gender equality in particular to the citizens.

The preamble, fundamental rights, directive principles of state policies have provided several safeguards to secure the human rights of the women. This is so, because one of the classes of society which was much oppressed since several years was the class of women. Therefore, it became essential to make them stand on an equal footing by aiding them with such special laws.

Some legal rights which a woman should be aware of are:-

Right to Zero FIR

Under Zero FIR, any woman who has been molested or raped can file a police complaint in any police station in the city. Usually police stations do not register complaints if the crime does not occur in their jurisdiction. However, the Zero FIR rule allows for an FIR to be filed in any police station in the city. Once an FIR is filed, the senior officers will direct the Station House Officer(SHO) to lodge an FIR in the relevant police station.

Right to privacy

Under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a woman can record her statement in private if she has been raped. She would record the statement only in front of the magistrate. She can also record her statement in person with a lady constable or police officer.

Right to free legal aid

A woman who walks into the police station has a right to ask for free legal aid. Often there are cases where a woman is misquoted or humiliated and this law has been brought in to ensure she gets proper justice.

Right to virtual complaints

A victim, who is unable to go to the police station, can also register a police complaint by e-mail or registered post. This should be addressed to the senior police officer or Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. Once they receive the letter, they will ask the SHO of the police station where the incident occurred to investigate and file an FIR. A victim can then give her statement even at her home to the police.

Right to untimely registration

A victim might go to the police station immediately to file a complaint. Police have no right to say that the complaint is not timely and reject it. The woman is allowed to file a complaint even at a later date as her self-respect is important above all.

Right to no arrest

The Supreme Court has ruled that no woman can be arrested before sunrise or after sunset. A woman can exercise this right even if a woman police constable is present at night. If the police deems it important to arrest a woman at night, they need to have a letter from the magistrate explaining why the arrest is necessary.

Right to confidentiality

The law states that the identity of a rape victim cannot be revealed. According to Section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code, the disclosure of a victim’s identity is a punishable offense. The victim’s name cannot be printed or published nor can anything else that will reveal her identity. The law is in place to ensure that she is not ostracised or victimised because of the sexual crime committed. In the judgement also she is only referred to as the ‘victim’ and not by name.

Right to not being interrogated in the police station

Under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a woman cannot be called for interrogation to the police station. She can be questioned at her home in the presence of a woman constable and her family or friends.

No sexual harassment

By law, every employer in India has to have a Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee in the organisation (private or public). The Supreme Court has issued guidelines on how to set up these committees. The committee is to comprise of 50 percent women and one member should be part of a women’s welfare group.

Rape is a crime

Section 164 A of the Criminal Procedure Code states that a victim of rape has to undergo a medical examination and the report thereby becomes proof. A victim can ask for the copy of her report. Rape is considered a crime and not a medical condition and thus the medical officer examining her cannot make a diagnosis. The medical officer can state if there has been any sexual activity. He or she cannot decide if rape had taken place or not.

Thus laws have indeed played a very important role in the lives of woman. Their conditions have no doubt been improved. However, the present scene is not desirable too. Women safety is still a very big concern and with time and awareness, the solution shall be sought for.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Krupa Thakkar

KRUPA THAKKAR

Krupa Thakkar is currently pursuing BLS LLB from Government Law College, Mumbai. She is presently in her second year. Always eager to learn new things, she keeps herself updated with happenings around the world. Though not an extrovert, she makes sure that she performs the best whenever she is allotted any task.