Outrage will not get us justice
The Rajya Sabha last week passed a Bill amending sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012. The amendments introduce stringent punishments to tackle child sexual abuse media (commonly known as child pornography). They also introduce death penalty as the maximum punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault. In the aftermath of the horrific 2012 Delhi gangrape, a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India
J S Verma was constituted to recommend amendments to criminal law. The committee heard from experts across several domains and made wide-ranging and progressive recommendations. One of these was that the death penalty for rape or sexual assault was not a deterrent. It recommended life imprisonment instead. Experts who work with survivors of sexual assault have reiterated this since, in vain. Both the UPA and the NDA have turned to the death penalty to appease an angry public as if it is a quick-fix solution to an issue with systemic roots. Unfortunately, justice is rarely served by anger and outrage.
There are at least three very good arguments against the death penalty being invoked in POCSO cases. First, it is not a deterrent—in fact experts have said that it may lead perpetrators to murder the child after the sexual assault. Two, most POCSO cases involve perpetrators known to the victims. Reporting of sexual violence is already difficult. It will be more difficult for a family to decide to send the child’s father or grandfather or uncle to his death. Third, experts argue judges are less likely to convict the accused if the sentence is death. As it is, the conviction rate for POCSO cases was an abysmal 28.2% in 2016.
Instead of fixating on the death penalty as the solution to all evils, the government should ensure that cases are registered and tried in a time-bound and child-friendly manner. Police and prosecutors must be properly trained in handling such cases and compensation to survivors must be given quickly. Families and survivors must receive every support necessary during and after the trial. These are measures that will make a real difference.