Punishment for sexual crimes against kids

In a bid to protect children from sexual abuse, the Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. It will make punishment more stringent, including death penalty, for committing sexual crimes against children. The amendments also provide for levy of fines and imprisonment to curb child pornography.

Impact

* The amendment is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to strong penal provisions incorporated in the Act.

* It intends to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress and ensures their safety and dignity.

* The amendment is aimed at establishing clarity regarding the aspects of child abuse and punishment thereof.

Background

The POCSO Act, 2012, was enacted to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children. The Act is gender neutral.

POCSO Act

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 women and child development ministry championed the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Salient features

* The Act defines a child as any person below 18 years of age, and regards the best interests and well-being of the child as being of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.

* It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography, and deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority vis-à-vis the child, like a family member, police officer, teacher or doctor.

* People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act. The Act prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and a fine.

Cabinet approves transgender persons Bill

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to introduce The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. It will be introduced in the ongoing Parliament session. The Bill provides a mechanism for the social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders.

Impact

The Bill will benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalised section and bring them into the mainstream of society. This will lead to inclusiveness and will make transgender persons productive members of the society.

Background

* The transgender community is among one of the most marginalised because they don’t fit into the stereotypical gender categories. Consequently, they face problems ranging from social exclusion to discrimination, lack of education facilities, unemployment, lack of medical facilities and so on. The Bill shall empower the transgender community socially, educationally and economically.

* According to the new definition, a transgender person is somebody “whose gender does not match the gender assigned to that person at birth and includes trans-men or trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons having socio-cultural identities such as kinnar, hijras, aravani and jogta”.

What does the Bill guarantee?

* The Bill aims to stop discrimination against a transgender person in various sectors such as education, employment and health care. It also directs the central and state governments to provide welfare schemes for them.

* Moving the Bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said that it was a long-standing demand to bring a legislation to protect the rights of transgender persons and their welfare. He added that the Bill is aimed at bringing the community into the mainstream of the society.

Who is a transgender person?

* As per international standards, ‘transgender’ is an umbrella term that includes persons whose sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to them at birth. For example, a person born as a man may identify with the opposite gender, i.e., as a woman. In addition to this sense of mismatch, the definition provided under the Bill also lists further criteria to be defined as a transgender person. These include being (i) ‘neither wholly male nor female’, or (ii) ‘a combination of male or female’, or (iii) ‘neither male nor female’.

* The Supreme Court, the expert committee of the social justice and welfare ministry and the recent standing committee report all define ‘transgender persons’ based on the mismatch only. Therefore, the definition provided under the Bill does not clarify if simply proving a mismatch is enough (as is the norm internationally) or whether the additional listed criteria ought to be fulfilled as well.

Big boost to rural road connectivity

In a boost to rural road connectivity, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the launch of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-lll (PMGSY-III). It involves the consolidation of through routes and major rural links connecting habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets, higher secondary schools and hospitals. Under PMGSY-III, it is proposed to consolidate 1,25,000 km roads in states.

Background

The PMGSY-III was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget 2019-20 speech. On August 9, 2018, the CCEA approved the continuation of PMGSY-I and II beyond the 12th Five Year Plan and covering of balance eligible habitations under PMGSY-I by March 2019, PMGSY-II, and habitations under identified LWE blocks by March 2020.

PMGSY-I

The PMGSY was launched in December 2000 with an objective to provide single all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations of designated population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-East, hill, tribal and desert areas as per Census 2001) for overall socio-economic development of the areas. As much as 97 per cent of the eligible and feasible habitations have already been connected by all-weather roads.

The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity, by way of an all-weather road to the eligible unconnected hHabitations in rural areas, in such a way that all such habitations with a population of 1,000 persons and above are covered in three years (2000-03) and all such habitations with a population of 500 persons and above by the end of the 10th Five Year Plan (2007).

In respect of the hill states (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand) and desert areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme) as well as the Tribal (Schedule V) areas, the objective would be to connect habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.

The PMGSY will permit the upgradation of existing roads in those districts where all the eligible habitations of the designated population size have been provided all-weather road connectivity. However, it must be noted that upgradation is not central to the programme and cannot exceed 20 per cent of the state’s allocation as long as eligible unconnected habitations in the state still exist.