CHENNAI: Make the court room atmosphere friendly for the child sexual abuse victims, who can feel free and safe.
This is the core of the message at a workshop held here on Tuesday to sensitize law students on ‘Prevention and Healing of Child Sex.’
Several leading lawyers who are into judicial activism aired their thoughts for the benefit of the students,in a panel discussion organized by the Tulir-Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sex.
The speakers pointed out that the guidelines given by the Madras High court for handling child witnesses in the court room were hardly being followed. S Vimala, Presiding Officer, Industrial Tribunal, the Madras High Court, said, “ Today you are students, tomorrow when you become lawyers or judges we have to be sensitive to the trauma the abused child is undergoing. If only all of us make the effort to follow the guidelines on handling child witnesses on the court room it will make a world of difference to the victims.”
The guidelines were issued with the intention of removing the secondary victimization of the child witnesses when they would be asked to testify regarding the traumatic incidents of abuse in an often strange or hostile court room atmosphere. T Paneerselvam, Asst Public Prosecutor, Magistrate Court, Saidapet, narrated a few cases to explain how the atmosphere in the court could be made more child friendly.
He said, “ We should try not to bring the child into the court room, which will be a harrowing experience for the already abused child. We can take the child’s testimony as told to the mother or NGO or the police. In case if it was needed they could go for an on-camera proceeding. It will be intimidating for the child to see the offender in the court. This should be avoided.” Albertina Almeida, Advocate from Goa,said, “ The law needs to define on the gradation of child sexual abuse which includes a whole range of things from assault to abuse. We need more judicial activism to make the court room more child friendly.”
Vidhya Reddy of Tulir said, “A lot needs to be done, we need definitions, on different kinds of sexual violence on children.
