‘All offences against children have been made non-bailable’

Child Rights in Goa is one of the NGOs which were instrumental in drafting the Goa Children’s Act (GCA) in 2003, the first state legislation against paedophilia and sex tourism. The NGO is now working towards the implementation of the act. GCA case co-ordinator Audrey Pinto speaks to DNA about the Act and how it has helped in bringing down crimes against children.

What were the circumstances that demanded the enactment of the GCA?
Increasing instances of child sex abuse, such as the Freddy Peats case, in Goa led to the GCA. It has specific provisions to protect children and empower them.
The act has come to the rescue of minors at various stages of a case, ie at the police station and in the court.

A special children’s court has been constituted in Goa and all offences against children have been made non-bailable and cognizable. Certain offences which are not defined under any central legislation — such as trafficking and sexual abuse — have been dealt under the GCA, where the burden of proof has been made to rest with the accused.

How has the GCA helped in nailing down paedophiles and child traffickers? Is it well-equipped in handling such cases?
The GCA is well drafted. Despite this, there have been acquittals because bodies such as victim assistance units (VAUs) have not been constituted.

As per law, VAUs should equip a child to deal with the trauma of abuse and
assist him or her in processes involved with appearing as a witness  before a court or any authority handling the case.

In the Anchorage paedophilia case, the judge did not accept the testimony of the children. The GCA stipulates that any abused child’s testimony should be treated on a par with the testimony of a child rape victim and that the onus of disproving the crime should be on the offender. Could you cite instances when this has benefited victims?
Not only are there GCA judgments, but also Supreme Court ones where the victim’s statement was given priority. But then the judge or presiding officer has to be convinced about the reliability of the testimony.

The establishment of a children’s court is a unique provision in the act. How has it helped the victims?
The constitution of the court has helped victims in numerous ways: through in-camera proceedings, non-aggressive questioning by defence lawyers and the presence of a counsellor during the recording of the victim’s statement.

What sort of cases have been tried at the children’s court? How many cases have been tried till now?
Cases ranging from molestation to rape to murder have been tried in the children’s court. In Goa, only the children’s court has the powers to try offences against children. No other court has jurisdiction to try these cases.

Appeals from the children’s court go to the high court. Since the inception of the children’s court in 2004, around 200 cases have been tried.

There are many provisions under the act, like regular inspection of children’s homes, and establishments like hotels and cyber cafes to report possible cases of child abuse. Has the police been able to crack down on these establishments?
Since the enactment of the GCA, NGOs have created a lot of awareness in such establishments to the extent that hotel owners have been informing the police of suspicious activities.

The police, too, have been keeping a strict vigil and have registered many cases against owners of establishments that failed to report cases of child abuse.

Do you think the GCA has been implemented properly?
The act has not been implemented in toto. As I have already mentioned, several instruments such as VAUs are yet to be established.

What do you think needs to be done to effectively tackle child abuse in the country? Do we require a law with more teeth than existing ones? Will a central legislation be more effective?
A specialised police force trained to investigate child abuse is the need of the hour and should be constituted immediately. And a multidisciplinary body comprising a counsellor and a lawyer should be formed in every state.

State legislation plays a more effective role in curbing child abuse. Each state has its own needs and these cannot be tackled at the central level.
r_menaka@dnaindia.net