Union Women and Child Development Ministry has announced setting up of a compensation fund to provide financial help to children who are victims of sexual crimes under POCSO Act.
The finances for this fund will be drawn from Nirbhaya Fund.
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was formulated in 2012 to address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
At present different states have different victim compensation schemes, many cover rape but not sexual offences against children.
States like Maharashtra, Odisha and Delhi have amended their scheme to include POCSO cases.
Nirbhaya Fund with corpus of INR. 1000 crores was announced by government for empowerment, safety and security of women and girl children.
POCSO Act: Know More- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was created in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 obtained the President’s assent on 19th June 2012.
- It was notified in the Gazette of India as on 20th June, 2012.
- The Act defines a child as any person below 18 years of age.
- It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and use of child pornography.
- It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill/unwell.
- It is also aggravated when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
- The Act also assigns the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
