Laws Which can be used for CSA
The United Nations Convention on Rights of Child, 1989 states that sexual exploitation and sexual abuse includes the inducement of coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity, the exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices and the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Thus, Child Sexual Abuse can take place as:
a) Contact Sexual Abuse
b) Non-contact sexual abuse
Although we do not have specific laws to deal with cases of child sexual abuse but some of the present penal laws that can be used in case the above two situations come into play are:
| Forms of Contact Sexual Abuse | Penal Laws |
| Fondling a child’s genitals or making a child fondle yours | Section 354-Outraging the modesty of a woman, Section 509-words/gestures, intended to outrage the modesty of a woman |
| Masturbation | -do- and Voluntarily causing Hurt-Section323, Section 44- Injury |
| Oral genital contact | Section 377- Unnatural Sex |
| Vaginal Intercourse | Section 375-Rape |
| Anal intercourse | Section 377- Unnatural Sex |
| Forms of Non Contact Sexual Abuse | Penal Laws |
| Exposure (exhibitionism, sale of obscene Material to a child etc) | Section 293- prohibits sale of obscene material to a child, Section 294-prohibits Obscene acts in public place |
| Voyeurism | If done electronically: same As below |
| Pornography | Section 29A read with Section 292, Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (even browsing child Porn is a crime) |
Medium of Child Sexual Abuse (Covered under various laws including penal laws)
a) Child Pornography (Indian Penal Code,1860, Young Persons Harmful Publications Act, 1956, Information Technology Amendment Act, 2006)
b) Sex Tourism (
c) Child Trafficking (Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 Indian Penal Code, 1860)
d) Child Prostitution
This post is written by Smriti Kaul from Koshishhh
Pingback: Transcript of the Chat with Smriti Kaul « CSA Awareness Month
That was very informative. At the same time, also shows how we lack a comprehensive and robust law against child abuse in specific.
Currently our judiciary doesn’t quite recognise CSA as a non gender-specific crime with life-long repercussions. Hopefully the day is not far off when this state of things will change.