Operationalizing the Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences (Pocso) Act 2012 & Child Rights in Schools Organized by Expressions India in Collaboration with

Association of Indian School Counselors and Allied Professionals

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was formulated in order to

effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The Protection of Children from

Sexual Offences Act, 2012 received the President‟s assent on 19th June 2012 and was notified in the

Gazette of India on 20th June, 2012.

The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age. It defines different forms of sexual

assaults, as well as sexual harassment and pornography. It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated”

under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is

committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher,

or doctor. The Act also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.

Thus, the police personnel receiving a report of sexual abuse of a child are given the responsibility of

making urgent arrangements for the care and protection of the child, such as obtaining emergency

medical treatment for the child and placing the child in a shelter home, and bringing the matter in

front of the CWC, should the need arise.

The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimisation of the child at the hands of the

judicial system. It provides for special courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing

the identity of the child, in a manner that is as child-friendly as possible. Hence, the child may have a

parent or other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance from an

interpreter, special educator, or other professional while giving evidence. Above all, the Act

stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the

offence is reported.

„Expressions India‟ has conducted several training sessions, National Seminars and consultations

to promote the Operationalizing of the POCSO Act 2012 & Child Rights Education in schools.

Taking this initiative forward it has was instrumental in conducting numerous seminars ,

workshops and conferences for the operationalization and implementation of the Act in order to

Promote and ensure the safety of children and adolescents.

1. National Launch & Consultation on Operationalizing the Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 & Child Rights in Schools 25th February 2017, Auditorium,

Moolchand Medcity, New Delhi At the onset of the launch, numerous dignitaries and eminent

people from the field of education, psychology and legal department were welcomed by the host.

The programme started with the introduction and felicitation of the panel members by Dr Pooja

Jaitley. She gave a brief introduction on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences

(POCSO) Act 2012. Dignitaries from the various fields of law, education, psychology and

counselling took part in the seminar. The eminent personalities who were present in the launch

were:

Prof. Saroj Yadav, Dean (Academic) NIE, NCERT, Ms. Geetanjli Goel, Director of National Legal

Services Authority, Prof. (Dr.) Kavita Sharma, President, South Asian University , Dr. Toshendra

Dwivedi , Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology (AIPS), Amity University, Shri.

Premoday Khakha , Assistant Director, Department of Women and Child Development, Prof J L

Pandey, Former Head at NCERT & Founder of NAEP and Ms Usha Chaujer , Chairperson ,

AISCAP, Ms. Nishi Mishra Principal, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior, Shri. Premoday Khakha,

Assistant Director, Department of Women and Child Development, Ms. Sarita from DCPU and

Mr. Subhash Gautam , Superintendent, OHB-II, Seva Kutir, New Delhi.

Various pertinent points regarding the implementation of the Act and the challenges in doing so was

discussed. Some issues whichever highlighted were:

Need and importance to concentrate on structure & system, laws and restructuring of

education system.

Child abuse is more prevalent between the age group of 5-11 years and it happens mostly at

home. In order to encounter this, the child need a holistic development and should have the

knowledge of the different fields like humanities, arts, science and child rights etc. NCERT is

playing a very important role on adolescent education and life skills development along

with the Implementation of domestic violence act, POCSO act, JJ Act. It is very important for

the teachers and the students to understand their rights & responsibilities .In order to create

awareness, suitable questioning methods need to be inculcated.

Role of the School: Schools are the key players as POCSO act deals with children. School can

play a role by recognizing if child is a victim of sexual abuse. Teachers can be trained to

recognize symptoms. Children who take drugs, or watch pornography have chances of

committing crimes like rape. There have been instances of children committing rape at the age

of 9.5 years & 10 years.

Child Rights Education was discussed at length and various perspectives to implement the

same was highlighted like the concept of CRE , Implementation of Child rights, Techniques for

empowering role of teaching and non teaching staff for effective implementation of CRE (Child

Rights Education) and promoting mental health and Challenges in Implementing Child Rights

Education.

2. NATIONAL SEMINAR & CONSULTATION on Operationalising the Protection of Children

from Sexual Offences Act 2012 in Schools was organized by Instt. of Child Development &

Adolescent Health, scheduled on 6th February 2016 at Moolchand Medcity, New Delhi.

In this prestigious event,

esteemed dignitaries invited and

with their presence, they graced

the event. Among them were,

Ms. Rashmi Saxena Sahni, Joint

Secretary, Ministry of Women &

Child Development, Govt. of

India, in her talk, elucidated the

rights of children with emphasis

on the POCSO Act for aiming

for children to be safe, secure

and free from exploitation. Dr.

Vivek Joshi, OSD/Joint

Secretary, Public Procurement Division at

Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance,

Govt. of India, highlighted the importance of UN

Convention of Child Rights, of which India is a part.

The other dignitaries participated in the discussion and

the following point where focused upon:

Phenomena of CSA.

Awareness to be created about the POCSO Act

among teachers, parents and the community at large.

Teachers, principals and schools should use a variety of resources to spread awareness about

Child Abuse among children and parents.

Spaces can be made safe for children. Some of the ways are: conduction of regular security

audits, screening of employees (such as bus drivers, security guards etc.) working in an

organization for their aptitude and knowledge about CSA and POCSO Act.

There is a need to know the larger framework which involves how the Ministry of Child and

Women Development coordinates with the UN.

The police officer seeking information from the child to be dressed in civilian clothes.

In camera trial for the child

Questions to be modified by the judge and

then asked by the child

To view aspects in a gender neutral way

3. As a national team, „Expressions India‟ in

collaboration with National Legal Services

Authority (NALSA) is working for promotion

of the aforementioned areas and taking

forward this noble cause. The National

Seminar on “EMERGING ROLE OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP IN CHILD PROTECTION &

CHILD RIGHTS EDUCATION IN INDIA” was organized National Science Centre, Pragati

Maidan, New Delhi. Ms Geetanjali Goel Director of National Legal Services Authority was an

active spoke person.

4. Once again in the month of May 2016 to

promote the POCSO implementation,

Expressions India has organized the,

NATIONAL CONSULTATION &

UPDATE ON Implementing the POCSO

Act (2012) for Schools, at the India

International Centre, New Delhi. Smt.

Swati Maliwal, Chairperson, Delhi

Commission of Women was invited as

the Chief Guest.

Amongst the other dignitaries, there were, Ms.

Geetanjli Goel, Director – National Legal

Services Authority. Prof. (Dr.) Kiran Bedi,

Founder – India Vision Foundation & Social

Activist, Dr. Rajni Kumar, Chairperson,

Springdales Education Society, New Delhi. Prof.

(Dr.) Saroj Yadav, Dean (Academic), NIE,

NCERT, New Delhi, Prof. (Dr.) Kavita Sharma,

President, South Asian University (SAU) The

following points were focused upon in this

prestigious event :

Reflective Learning‟s from Evidence of Child Abuse in India -

Global & Indian Scenario

Experience Sharing, Legal Implications and Methodology in

Operationalizing the POCSO Act (2012) for Schools.

School Management & Principals Perspective on the POCSO Act

Implementation: Empowering the Role of Teaching and Non

Teaching Staff .

Recommendations & the Road Map Ahead for School Curriculum

Framework focused on Prevention of CSA.

5. Other initiative taken very actively by Expressions India are as

follows :

An Interactive Session on the POCSO Act „Operationalizing the

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 in Schools

Emerging Implications and Interventions‟ , at ManavRachna International . School, Sec 14,

Faridabad.

Operationalizing the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 in Schools

Emerging Implications & Interventions‟ at Navy Children School, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

Hands on Workshop & Counselor‟s Dialogue, Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences Act 2012 (POCSO)Emerging Implication &; Challenges for Schools, Springdales

School, Pusa Road, New Delhi.

In order to disseminate more information to the professionals and equip them with the required

knowledge in the field of educational institutions and other allied fields , Expressions India has

designed technical framework of these programs and the launch of three types of training

programs are planned the poster of the program are as follows :