Nod For Bill To Protect Children From Sexual Abuse

[golmaal govindam]

[url="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3447054.ece"]http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3447054.ece[/url]

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It provides for stringent punishment for offenders and setting up of special courts[/font][color=#3B3A39][font=Georgia,]
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011. The Bill, already passed by the Rajya Sabha, will protect children below 18 from sexual abuse, and seeks to set up special courts for speedy trial of cases against them and provide stringent punishment extending up to life term for offenders.[/font][/color][color=#3B3A39][font=Georgia,]
“The Bill is gender-neutral. It seeks to protect children from sexual offences and the burden of proof will be on the accused,” Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said.[/font][/color][color=#3B3A39][font=Georgia,]
Ms. Tirath said all those below 18 years would be treated as child and efforts had been made to keep provisions of the Bill child-friendly. It contained provisions for in-camera trial of offences.[/font][/color][color=#3B3A39][font=Georgia,]
Piloting the Bill, Ms. Tirath said the legislation had been necessitated due to the fact that incidents of child abuse had increased immensely, particularly in the National Capital Region. According to a study conducted by her Ministry in 13 States, 53 per cent of children accepted that they had been sexually exploited.[/font][/color]