Question Discussion & Solution

• POCSO Act, 2012 is a gender-neutral act and gives equitable protection to both girls and boys.
• The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age.
• The Act incorporates child-friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation as well as the trial of such offences covered under the act.
• People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act.
• Medical Examination of Child needs to be conducted within 24 hours.
• Recording the statement of the child at the residence of the child or at the place of his choice, preferably by a woman police officer.
• No child is to be detained in any police station in the night for any reason what so ever.
• Police officials are directed not to be in uniform while recording the statement of the child so victimized.

Option 1 is NOT correct.

Key Points

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956:

• It extends to the whole of India. So, statement 1 is NOT correct.
• In this Act:
  • ​“Brothel” includes any house, room, or place or any portion of any house, room, or place, which is used for purposes [of sexual exploitation or abuse] for the gain of another person or for the mutual gain of two or more prostitutes.
  • “Child” means a person who has not completed the age of sixteen years. So, statement 2 is correct.
  • “Major” means a person who has completed the age of eighteen years. So, statement 3 is correct.
  • “Public Place” means any place intended for use by, or accessible to, the public and includes any public conveyance. So, statement 4 is correct.

The correct answer is Civil Court.

Key Points 

• Sexual harassment at a workplace is considered a violation of women's right to equality, life, and liberty.
• It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourages women's participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their social and economic empowerment and the goal of inclusive growth.
• With this idea, the legislature formulated the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.
• 'Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace', Civil court has been empowered to collect evidence to complaints committees set up under this Act.
• The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.

Additional Information 

• Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
  • The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work.
  • It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012.
  • It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013.
  • The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013.
  • The Act came into force on 9 December 2013.
  • This statute superseded the Vishaka Guidelines for Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH) introduced by the Supreme Court (SC) of India.
  • It was reported by the International Labour Organization that very few Indian employers were compliant with this statute.

The correct answer is Domestic violence.

• It is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to protect women from domestic violence.
• It was brought into force by the Indian government on 26 October 2006.
• The Act provides for the first time in Indian law a definition of domestic violence, with this definition being broad and including not only physical violence, but also other forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual, and economic abuse.
• It is a civil law meant primarily for protection orders and not meant to be enforced criminally.
• In October 2016, the Supreme Court has made a verdict to delete the words “adult male” before the word ‘person’ in Section 2(q) of the Act making it gender-neutral.

Important Points

• Salient features of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005:
  • Includes physical and mental ill-treatment.
  • Primarily meant for the protection of wife or female live-in partners.
  • Law also extends to sisters, widows, or mothers.
  • Harassment in the form of dowry demands also included in this law.
  • Gives women the right to secure housing.
  • The court can also issue protection orders that prevent the abuser to harass the women by acts at her workplace.
  • The act proposes the appointment of protection officers and NGOs.
  • A breach of a protection order is a non-bailable offence. 

The correct answer is 14th November 2012.

• To deal with child sexual abuse cases, the Government has brought in a special law, namely, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
• The Act has come into force with effect from 14th November 2012 along with the Rules framed thereunder. 

Key Points

• The POCSO Act, 2012 is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection of children from the offences of
  • sexual assault
  • sexual harassment
  • pornography
• While safeguarding the interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through designated Special Courts.