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Top2. Background
The League of Nations embraced the Geneva Declaration in the year 1924 on the Rights of all children across the globe, which verbalizes that all individuals owe children the privilege to: implies for their turn of events; extraordinary assistance amid hardship; the need for help; financial opportunity and assurance from abuse; and childhood that ingrains social awareness and obligation (Legislative history of the Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC), 2007). The Convention on the Rights of the Children was embraced in 1989 by the United Nations General Assembly, which gave assurances and sets the least guidelines for securing the privileges of children in all limits. Article 34 of the CRC gives children the privileged assurance from all types of sexual misuse and that all abused kids have these rights as perceived by the CRC (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) | CRC, 1990).
The World Health Organization (WHO), a specialized agency responsible for public health, also describes Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) as the relationship of youth in sexual development that the individual doesn't totally understand, can't give consent to, or for which the child isn't developmentally masterminded and can't give consent, or that ignores the established laws or limitations prevailed in the society. Child Sexual Abuse may include a variety of forms such as inviting a child to touch one’s private parts or be touched sexually, fondling, intercourse, involving a child in prostitution or pornography etc. and therefore, it is considered as a serious problem of high magnitude all over the Globe (Babcock and Tomicic, 2006).
Almost 37% of India's population are children, many of them experience great deprivations such as lack of access to basic health care, food, education including sex education/awareness. In 2007 a nationwide survey was conducted on a large scale by the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to gain insight into the extent and nature of child sexual abuse in India. The alarming statistics was a whistle blower. It was extremely shocking that among the 12,447 children, who were surveyed, more than half (53 per cent) were victims of explicit sexual abuse in some form or other. Over 20 per cent reported intense sexual abuse, making the child twiddle private parts, exhibit private body parts and were also photographed nude (Rapid Survey On Children (RSOC) 2013-14 | Ministry of Women & Child Development, 2021). This report led to increased attention in the public treatise and advocacy around child protection led to the Government of India enacted the `The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (MoWCD)' law in 2012. This act forbids a range of sexual acts including rape, gang rape, sexual harassment, exploitation for pornography or possession of children images in pornographic and mandates the constitution of Special Courts by the governments to accelerate trials of these offences (Seth and Srivastava, 2017). The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2000, which addresses various criminal aspects related to cyberspace, is concerned with online activities and covers any communication device used to transmit any text, video, audio, or image (Asawat, 2010). The provisions of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2000 have been strengthened by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 which deals especially with the sexual offences against children, including child pornography and grooming (Seth and Srivastava, 2017).