WUNRN
India - Asian Centre for Human
Rights
with support from the
European Commission
INDIA - CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT IN
JUVENILE JUSTICE HOMES - GIRLS
Direct Link to Full 56-Page 2013 Report:
Press Release Follows....
http://achrweb.org/press/2013/IND13-2013.html
New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights in its
report, “India’s Hell Holes: Child
Sexual Assault in Juvenile Justice Homes” stated
that sexual offences against children in India have reached an
epidemic proportion and a large number of them are being committed in the
juvenile justice homes run and aided by the Government of India. The
report has been submitted in advance to the UN Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Women, Ms Rashida Manjoo who is conducting an official
visit to India from 22 April to 1 May 2013 while ACHR is scheduled to meet
the Rapporteur on 23 April 2013.
The 56-page report, citing National Crimes Record Bureau
statistics, stated that a total of 48,338 child rape cases was recorded
from 2001 to 2011 and India saw an increase of 336% of child rape cases
from 2001 (2,113 cases) to 2011 (7,112 cases). These are only the tip of
the iceberg as the large majority of child rape cases are not reported to
the police while children regularly become victims of other forms of
sexual assault too.
Among the states, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of child
rape cases with 9,465 cases from 2011 to 2011; followed by Maharashtra
with 6,868 cases; Uttar Pradesh with 5,949 cases; Andhra Pradesh with
3,977 cases; Chhattisgarh with 3,688 cases; Delhi with 2,909 cases;
Rajasthan with 2,776 cases; Kerala with 2,101 cases; Tamil Nadu with 1,486
cases; Haryana with 1,081 cases; Punjab with 1,068 cases; Gujarat with 999
cases; West Bengal with 744 cases; Odisha with 736 cases; Karnataka with
719 cases; Himachal Pradesh with 571 cases; Bihar with 519 cases; Tripura
with 457 cases; Meghalaya with 452 cases; Assam with 316 cases; Jharkhand
with 218 cases; Mizoram with 217 cases; Goa with 194 cases; Uttarakhand
with 152 cases; Chandigarh with 135 cases; Sikkim with 113 cases; Manipur
with 98 cases; Arunachal Pradesh with 93 cases; Jammu and Kashmir with
69 cases; Andanam and Nicobar Island with 65 cases; Puducherry with 41
cases; Nagaland with 38 cases; Dadra and Nagar Haveli with 15 cases; and
Daman and Diu with 9 cases.
Many of the child rape cases take place in juvenile justice homes established
under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and
by the end of financial year 2011-2012, about 733 juvenile justice homes
were fully supported by the Government of India under the Integrated Child
Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
“It will not be an understatement to state that juvenile justice
homes, established to provide care and protection as well as
re-integration, rehabilitation and restoration of the juveniles in
conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, have become
India’s hell holes where inmates are subjected to sexual assault and
exploitation, torture and ill treatment apart from being forced to live in
inhuman conditions. The girls remain the most vulnerable. It matters
little whether the juvenile justice homes are situated in the capital
Delhi or in the mofussil towns.” – stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of
Asian Centre for Human Rights.
The 56-page report also highlights 39 emblematic cases of systematic
and often repeated sexual assault on children in juvenile justice homes.
Out of the 39 cases, 11 cases were reported from government-run
juvenile justice homes such as observation homes, children homes, shelter
homes and orphanages, while in one case a CWC member was accused of
sexual harassment during counseling sessions. The remaining 27 cases
were reported from privately/NGO run juvenile justice homes such as
shelter homes, orphanages, children homes, destitute homes, etc. Majority of privately/NGO
run homes are not registered under Section 34(3) of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act (as amended in 2006).
In the case of government-run juvenile justice homes, the
perpetrators were staffs including the caretakers, security guards, cooks
and other Class IV employees, and the senior inmates. In two cases, the
sexual abuses were committed by the senior inmates in collusion with the
staff.
With respect to the privately/NGO-run juvenile justice homes,
the perpetrators include managers/ directors / owners/founders and
their relatives and friends, staff members such as caretakers, wardens,
cooks, drivers, security guards, gatekeepers, senior inmates and
outsiders including security forces. Out of the 27 cases in privately/NGO-run
homes, inmates were responsible for the offences in five cases and out of
these, in one case offence was committed in collusion with the staff.
“In most cases, sexual assault in the juvenile justice homes continues
for a long period as the victims are not able to protest and suffer
silently in the absence of any inspection by the authorities under the
JJ(C&PC) Act. While authorities of the juvenile justice homes are the
main predators, the absence of separate facilities, in many cases for boys
and girls, and in most cases as per age i.e. for boys and girls up to
12 years, 13-15 years and 16 years and above as provided under Rule 40 of
the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Rules 2007
facilitates sexual assaults on the minor inmates by the senior inmates.” –
further stated Mr Chakma.
Asian Centre for Human Rights blamed the Government of India i.e.
the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the State Governments for
the continuing sexual assault on children in the juvenile justice homes.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, State Commissions
for Protection of Child Rights and the Child Welfare Committees intervene
only after crimes are reported but there are no preventive mechanisms
or regular inspections.
The report highlighted four major failures for the continuing
sexual assaults in the government run and aided or unregistered juvenile
homes.
First, most State governments have not formed Inspection Committees
which are mandated to inspect the juvenile justice homes and report at
least once in every three months. Though the Ministry of Women and
Child Development while approving projects for all the States and
Union Territories under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme since 2010,
it never raised the issue of Inspection Committees with the Governments
of Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttar
Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland despite having yearly meetings for the
last three years. In fact, no separate budgetary allocation has been made
under ICPS for the functioning of the Inspection Committees. There is a
conscious effort on the part of the Ministry to avoid the issue of the
Inspection Committees.
Second, there are hundreds of unregistered child care homes across
the country despite the requirement to register the same within six
months under JJ(C& PC) Act, 2006. Inspection is seldom carried out in
these unregistered homes and children remain extremely vulnerable to
sexual abuse in these homes. The Ministry of Women and Child Development had raised
the issue of non-registration of children’s home with Jharkhand on 21
January 2013, Odisha on 9 November 2012, Arunachal Pradesh on 29
August 2012, Haryana on 29 August 2012, Rajasthan on 29 August 2012,
Andhra Pradesh on 11 July 2012, Assam on 11 July 2012, Mizoram on 15 March
2012, Karnataka on 28 June 2012 and Kerala 17 January 2012, among others,
but unregistered children’s homes exists across the country. In many
cases funds are given by the State Governments even if institutions are
notregistered under the JJ(C& PC) Act.
There is no punitive provision per se for non-registration of
the institutions but Section 23 of the JJ(C&PC) Act allows the
authorities to take action against willful neglect, mental or physical
suffering of children but little action is taken.
Third, though there are 462 District Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in
23 States mandated to verify fit institutions, majority of them exist only
on paper. The State Government of Karnataka in October 2010 put
the conditions that “members of the CWCs cannot visit child care
institutions, when they are not holding a sitting, without prior
permission of the heads of these institutions”, thereby prohibiting random
and surprise inspections.
Fourth, though Rule 40 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection
of Children) Rules 2007 provides for separate facilities between for boys
and girls as well as according to age i.e. for boys and girls up to 12
years, 13-15 years and 16 years and above, this provision has not been
complied with. The lack of segregation on the basis of gender, nature of
offences and age facilitates senior inmates to commit the offences against
minor inmates including girls.
Asian Centre for Human Rights stated that the Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) will not address the menace of
child sexual abuse unless the Government of India creates a Special Fund
under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme to provide financial
assistance for prosecution of the offenders under the POCSO.
Asian Centre for Human Rights also, among others, recommended
immediate establishment of the Inspection Committees in all the districts
and mandatory inspection of the juvenile justice homes by the
Inspection Committees in every three months; stopping funds to any home
unless inspection reports are submitted; separate budgetary
allocations for the functioning of the Inspection Committees, ban on
posting of male staff in girls’ homes, separation of residential
facilities based on the nature of offences, gender and age, completion of
inspection of all unregistered homes within six months and registration of
cases against the authorities of the unregistered juvenile justice homes