CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -In September 2010, the Ministry of Women and Child Development prepared a draft Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2010 which after several rounds of revisions came into force as the POCSO Act on Children’s Day – 14 November, 2012.

Detailed explanation-2: -In order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, the Ministry of Women and Child Development championed the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Detailed explanation-3: -Before the introduction of the POCSO Act, 2012, the sole legislation in India that aimed at protecting the rights of a child was the Goa’s Children’s Act, 2003 and Rules, 2004. Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, child sexual abuse accounted for an offence under Sections 375, 354 and 377.

Detailed explanation-4: -POCSO Act was enacted by the Parliament in 2012 to prevent children aged less than 18 from offences like sexual harassment, sexual assault, and child pornography. Its full form is the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.