HYDERABAD: Till recently, Radhika used to spend her evenings watching porn clips with her step-father and his brother. Once the 13-year-old’s mother goes to the kitchen to rustle up dinner, her father would playfully grab her breasts from behind. Radhika lost her father when she was a baby. Her mother remarried when she was five. To Radhika’s knowledge, this was all part of a normal father-daughter relationship.
It was when her teacher spoke about safe and unsafe touch that Radhika broke down, realising what she had been through. She told her teacher how her step-father kept talking to her about sexual intercourse after her mother, a cook, left for work. Radhika then had an interaction with Childline officials who brought her to the Bharosa Centre, setup by the Hyderabad Police to combat gender-based crimes.
Radhika is just one among 253 children who have come to that Bharosa Centre in the last 18 months, after their sexual abuse was reported and offenders booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2016. So far, only two offenders have been convicted. The big picture isn’t any better. According to the NCRB data, 1158 POCSO cases were reported last year. The conviction rate, however, is a mere 29.6 per cent. Further, about 80 per cent of the cases are still pending at courts across the country.
Tiny ray of hope
For children who lack safe spaces at homes and schools, the Bharosa Centres are little islands of relief. The centres were setup on the lines of the One Stop Crisis Centres based on recommendations made by the Justice (Retd.) Usha Mehra Commission after the gruesome rape of a 23-year-old in Delhi in December 2012.
Bharosa was setup in addition to the One Stop Crisis Centre at Petla Burj Maternity Hospital in the city. The One Stop Crisis Centre was originally started as a domestic violence cell, but had to be shut down due to staff crunch. Also, cases started being directed to the Bharosa Centre. In some districts though, the domestic violence cells double up as crisis centres and deal with POCSO cases.
The 200-odd cases that Bharosa centre is dealing with is a very small number, said Spandana Sadasivuni, a legal support officer at the Bharosa centre. “During my visits to the courts, we see a number of others, who are unaware of the systems in place or where to seek help. There will be at least 200 cases pending outside of Bharosa,” said Spandana who specialises in POCSO.
Bharosa Centres are like one-stop shops -- there’s a police desk to file complaints, it provides shelter for those in need, and has resources to provide legal, medical and counselling aid for survivors. All gender-related cases that come to 61 police stations across Hyderabad are referred to the Bharosa Centre. At the centre, every victim is tagged to a counsellor who follows up the case to the very end. The youngest inmate at the centre is 22-months-old. Radhika’s father has also been booked under the POCSO Act. Trial is yet to begin. Offences categorised under the POCSO Act are non-bailable.
However, due to delay in filing of chargesheets and court proceedings, accused are kept in custody for two to three days. Radhika’s father was in judicial remand for 11 days after which he was released. As per POCSO Act, child welfare police officers need to be appointed in every station, says Mamatha Raghuveer, who closely worked with victims in Warangal. Lack of special courts and legal and social support systems also add to a social stigma, she added.At least those in Hyderabad have Bharosa where counselling process is streamlined. But survivors in the districts are at the mercy of police who are often insensitive to such cases, say experts.
Big hurdles remain
Radhika’s step-father is back at home with her mother. She had a breakdown when she heard about the news. Her mother had promised to end relationship with the man who abused her. “She has slowly started to come to terms with her family situation,” says Radhika’s counsellor. Radhika now studies in a residential school and is under the State care. “It took her about three months to feel safe and cope with the new environment.”
While most provisions of POCSO are followed by the Bharosa Centre, some aspects are ‘out of our hand’ admits one counsellor. “Though children are rehabilitated and emotional support is provided, speedy justice still remains a challenge,” she says. The process, she adds, begins without much hassles, but the real challenges arise as they proceed. A female police officer accompanies the survivor for medical tests. The samples are then sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for verification. “This takes time and delays the process of filing chargesheet,” says SHE Teams ACP D Kavitha.
This is not the only reasons say social workers. “Police department is overworked. The officer who filed the FIR may have other work and may not be part of the investigation. Besides, not all policemen are sensitive to issues of children,” says Mamatha Raghuveer, founder of the NGO Tharuni. “For example, showing pornographic material to a child is a serious offence. But some policemen do not understand the repercussions and see it as something that doesn’t need a lot of importance,” added Mamatha Raghuveer. Social stigma coupled with less number of judges to look into speedy trial of these cases adds on to delay in the process.
The centre is very soon, likely to have a special court in its own premises to deal with the problem. “The 164 statement, where the child has to share his account with the magistrate is generally done in the Bharosa centre itself or through video conferencing. We are planning to set up a children’s court in this premises,” informed the counsellor.
In special cases, the magistrates come to the centre too, in case the child feels uncomfortable in any way. Though this system is in place, delay persists as the judges are over worked and set aside only a few hours in a week for POCSO cases.“Some times offenders are absconding. Witnesses do not come on time. But the most common reason why very few cases go to trial is because of poverty. The parents who are mostly daily wage labourers cannot invest months together to get the elusive justice. They prefer to move on or compromise,” says Spandana. “Also, most families move due to stigma associated with such incidents. Their whereabouts are unknown at the time of trial and cases get closed.”
Only 47 of 253 children compensated
Among the 253 children whose offenders were booked under the POCSO Act at Bharosa centre, 47 of them have received compensation. An amount of `12,500 is dispensed immediately after the case has been registered by the Women and Child Welfare Department. This too has to be attributed to the delay in the judicial proceedings. A total of 20 children have been rehabilitated to residential schools and drop outs have been linked to the open school system
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Short stay homes by government to be set up to ensure safety and security till transition period
Effective mass awareness campaigns to be held to reach all strata of people
Screening of short films in theatres, road points, TV channels, in schools and offices to help victims
School textbooks can carry reporting numbers of CSA helping the child and adults to report
Govt should take steps to arrange for monthly awareness programmes in apartments/slums/gated communities/colonies
Reporting mechanisms with important numbers to be displayed in schools, community halls and bus stands/railway stations
CCTVs must be made mandatory at entrance gates of all all schools
Ongoing awareness programmes to combat child sexual abuse
Information regarding safe and unsafe touch, whom to reach out for help and addressing the stigma to speak out are being discussed with children, teachers and also school managements by SHE Teams and several other NGOs
Telangana police launched a year-long campaign on November 3 to combat child sexual abuse across the state. As part of this, panel discussions are being conducted specifically to address stigma attached to speaking up when an incident takes place
NGO Tharuni, in collaboration with the British High Commission, launched Project Safe Childhood to educate all stakeholders regarding child sexual abuse
A total of 10 schools were selected from hot spots where the incidents of child sexual abuse are high and this was part of a study conducted by students of IIM-Indore who studied cases reported at the Bharosa centre. Following this, Tharuni connected with schools in these areas and respective police stations. A training session was held for teachers