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UPSC AGE OF CONSENT FOR ADOLESCENTS - English

AGE OF CONSENT FOR ADOLESCENTS

Why in News?

Recently, Karnataka High Court, while dismissing a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), saying the Law Commission of India will have to rethink the age of consent for Adolescents.

• It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
• It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, 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.
• It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
• The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
• It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.

Related Concerns

• Misuse of the Law: There have been several instances in the past few years when the courts have quashed criminal proceedings of rape and kidnapping, after being convinced that the law was being misused to suit one or the other party. In many cases, a couple elopes fearing opposition from parents resulting in a situation where families file a case with the police, who then book the boy for rape under the POCSO Act and abduction with the intent to marry under IPC or the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Even if the girl is 16 years old, she is considered a “child” under the POCSO Act and hence her consent does not matter, and any sexual intercourse is treated as rape, thus opening it up to stringent punishment.
• Criminal Justice System: A number of young couples in consensual and non-exploitative relationships have found themselves embroiled in the criminal justice system.
• Blanket Criminalisation: Consensual sexual acts involving older adolescents erodes their dignity, best interests, liberty, privacy, evolving autonomy, and development potential.
• Burden on Courts: It also impacts the delivery of justice as these cases constitute a large burden on courts. They divert attention from investigation and prosecution of actual cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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