Child Sexual Abuse - India

  http://www.thehindu.com/news/ states/tamil-nadu/ article3574030.ece "It's now up to all of us, to make sure that schools are held accountable and educated about this GO " Teachers guilty of child abuse to face dismissal Meera Srinivasan Share   ·   Comment (1)   ·   print   ·   T+    Teachers indulging in child sexual abuse will, henceforth, be punished with compulsory retirement, removal or instant dismissal. A government order issued by the School Education department states that it might go to the extent of cancelling all academic credentials of such teachers to ensure that they do not get to work elsewhere as a teacher. Though the order was issued on May 17, it is available in public domain only now. Asked if teachers were aware of it, senior officials said the message had been circulated around in the beginning of the new academic year. According to the GO, schools will hav...

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/20/living/give-grandma-hug-child/index.html I don't own my child's body By Katia Hetter, CNN June 21, 2012 -- Updated 0109 GMT (0909 HKT) Some experts advise parents not to make their children hug and kiss relatives, so children will feel in control of their bodies. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Katia Hetter does not tell her daughter she must hug or kiss visiting relatives The Sandusky case solidified her resolve to let her child make choices about her own body A personal safety expert agrees that children shouldn't be compelled to touch anyone Editor's note: Katia Hetter is a travel writer for CNN. She also covers parenting and relationship issues. (CNN) -- My daughter occasionally goes on a hugging and kissing strike. She's 4. Her parents could get a hug or a kiss, but many people who know her cannot, at least right now. And I won't make her. "I would like you to hug Grandma, but I won't make ...

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_20833677 Gillian Greensite: Advice on avoiding date rape must also address male behaviors By Gillian Greensite Posted:   05/19/2012 01:30:33 PM PDT T he issue of rape is usually the last topic anyone wants to address publicly so I was pleased to the see the column titled “How to prevent date rape” from clinical psychologist Offra Gerstein in Sunday’s Sentinel, May 13. Unfortunately, the advice offered places the responsibility for avoiding male sexual violence onto females who are disproportionally the victims. Every suggestion in the column tells girls what to do or not to do to recognize, assess, prepare for and prevent aggressive male sexual abuse. So what is the problem with telling girls to be cautious and alerting them to potentially abusive male behavior? In the absence of comparable advice or education for boys, the perpetrators of violence are rendered invisible, as if male sexual violence is an inev...

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3543940.ece Published: June 19, 2012 00:45 IST | Updated: June 19, 2012 00:45 IST Law and the age of innocence Geeta Ramaseshan The new law to protect children from sexual offences, though progressive in many respects, gives cause for concern by defining children as below 18 years The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2012, currently awaiting Presidential assent is a welcome step for many reasons. The penal code does not take into account the reality of many different acts of sexual violence committed on children and the range of sexual contexts according to the extent of coercion, injury, age and incapacitation of the child. The concept of relationship with the child, crucial in such cases, is completely absent in the existing law; there are no separate provisions to address sexual violence committed by family members, friends or those in positions of authority. The Indian Penal Code also do...

 http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article3451611.ece How informed is their consent? Vijay Nagaswami Share   ·   Comment   ·   print   ·   T+    Awareness and maturity, not so much the age, play a significant role in helping a teenager decide what's good for him/ her. Although, we have evolved in many ways as a nation, when it comes to sex and sexuality, we rarely fail to get our knickers in a twist. In the last fortnight or so, much controversy has been generated around the age of consent for sexual activity and whether consensual sexual exploratory activity between teenagers should be considered acceptable or not. At the heart of the debate is the issue of “informed” consent. Put differently, if they say “yes” to sex, do adolescents really understand what this would imply? And even if they did understand the implications, are they consenting because they really want t...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/Opeds/Silence-is-always-the-ally/Article1-860286.aspx Silence is always the ally Radhika Chandiramani , Hindustan Times May 23, 2012 First Published: 23:06 IST(23/5/2012) Last Updated: 23:10 IST(23/5/2012) The second episode of Aamir Khan's TV show 'Satyamev Jayate' on May 13 successfully brought people's attention to child sexual abuse (CSA). The Rajya Sabha had already passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill 2012 on May 10 and the Lok Sabha did so too on Tuesday. Those who have been following the process of drafting the Bill felt that it needed not so much a hasty passage as a  review. However, the issue demands that we look beyond the law because legal interventions are about abuse and penalty. The larger question is: how do we prevent CSA? A child's ...

New Delhi: Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to protect children below 18 from sexual abuse, set up special courts for speedy trial of cases against them and provide stringent punishment extending up to life term for offenders. "The bill is gender neutral. It seeks to protect children from sexual offences...The burden of proof will be on the accused," Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said winding up the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011. The bill, which was earlier cleared by Rajya Sabha, was approved by the Lower House by voice vote today. Tirath said all below 18 years would be treated as child and efforts have been made to keep provisions of the bill child-friendly. It contains provisions for in-camera trial of offences, she said. Dismissing concerns over misuse of the law, Tirath said, provisions have also been made to deal with offences of false compla...