Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has described child sexual abuse as the gravest and most disconcerting challenge. Inaugurating a conference on child sexual abuse material organized by the National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi, he said that all crimes are bad but crimes against children are difficult to digest and these need to be dealt with differently. He stressed the need to go beyond legal provisions to deal with such crimes, saying that society must come together to ensure the safety of women and children.
The Minister said the production, distribution and consumption of child sexual abuse material is one of the most serious forms of sexual abuse and it is a grave violation of the human rights of the children. He listed out measures taken by the government to address the issue including making POCSO Act more stringent. He added that the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules also empower the users of intermediaries and make the social media platforms accountable for their safety.
Mr. Rijiju said the judiciary and the government must come together to fight against the menace of child sexual abuse. He said that based on the pendency of cases, the Centre has earmarked 1023 Fastrack Special Courts, including 389 exclusive POCSO courts to dispose of the case related to rape and child sexual abuse.
In his address, NHRC Chairperson, Justice Arun Mishra stressed the need for coordinated efforts to make the digital world safe for children.
