Nearly 200 cases of child abuse reported in district

KOCHI: After the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act came into force in November 2012, 186 cases of child abuse were reported from the district, according to data provided by the police.
While four cases reported from the Kochi city in the two months of 2012, it was 47 cases in 2013 and 27 cases up to May this year. The Ernakulam rural police registered seven cases in 2012, 73 in 2013 and 28 cases up to May this year.
So far, only three persons have been convicted in child abuse cases though a special court was set up in early 2013.
This was mainly because of the government delay in issuing an order in setting up the court due to which no trial was conducted for almost six months.
In child abuse cases, the accused usually walks free when victims and their family turn hostile during the long judicial process. Even the special court set up to deal with cases related to atrocities and sexual violence against women and children seems to have failed to address the issue in the true sense.
"In most child abuse cases, especially cases in which they are abused by fathers, the victim turns hostile due to long judicial procedures. This usually results in acquittals. In a recent case, a man was acquitted by the court after the victim turned hostile after three years of judicial process," said Sandhya Rani, public prosecutor at the additional district sessions court, Ernakulam. Child rights activists say that the society and the system have not put in place a support mechanism for the victim and her family who initially receive a lot of support. But by the time the trial begins, they are usually alone.
"If the investigation and trial process goes as per the POCSO Act, the accused cannot escape. But most parents or guardians of the victim need psychological and legal counselling to handle the ups and downs in the case. Most of them do not know that any accused can get bail after three months. While it does not mean that they are free, the accused tries to put pressure on the victim by making it appear that he is free. There are physical and psychological threats. The family is also given broad hints by everyone to 'settle' the case rather than fight," said Sandhya Raju, director, Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Kochi.