What are the challenges?
As we have seen in our last blog there are lots of provisions in the law addressing child online protection but their effectiveness is spoiled by the lack of clear definitions; uncertainty arising from cultural perceptions of what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable or obscenity and decency; and the reality of discriminatory gender relations.
' Making laws is not the same as enforcing them. '
While sufficient anti-child pornography laws exist in india, enforcement is weak. Furthermore, policing a global operation like the Internet involves policing citizens from countries with widely differing domestic laws, cultures and social mores. it must be remembered that child pornography is a substantive and compelling problem on international, national, and local levels, and it is not a harmless crime.
Some of the major challenges that are faced by our indian judicial system or child protection system to give justice to these innocent souls are discussed below:
Denial of abuse:
Most of families in india denies that the sexual abuse (child pornography) of girls and boys takes place both within families and outside the home of the child.To save reputation of family these offences are denied to be accepted.
Absence of specific measures:
There are no specific measures followed in place to deal with child sexual abuse in institutionalized settings, such as juvenile homes, observation homes, orphanages,etc.
Lack of proper laws:
There are no any specific laws in india regarding to sexual offences most commonly,child pornography against children. There is no recognition and therefore, no provision in the criminal laws dealing with the various types of sexual abuse that may be committed against children and hence remained unaddressed by the laws.
Lack of enforcement:
There are not sufficient law enforcement agencies and implementation of existing laws, that pertain to commercial sexual exploitation of children including the use of children for obtaining pornographic materials.
Absence of training:
Low knowledge for sensitizing law enforcement officials towards rights of the children and the special needs of a child victim against whom sexual violence and abuse has been committed in order to get pornographic material.
Lack of social awareness:
Lack of awareness within families that directly impacts the perception of children who are sexually abused and exploited.
Lack of counseling:
Lack of psychological counselling and therapeutic treatment for the child victims and their families (when the sexual abuse happens to be extra-familial)
Class effect:
The effect of pornography is different in children belonging to the lower class compared to children belonging to the high class. A single approach won’t be able to handle the issue effectively.
Lack of sex education :
lack of sex education courses and workshops in the school curriculum In India, sex is seen as negative (something which should be hidden). There is no healthy family dialogue regarding sex. It leads the child to learn this from outside which led to an addiction to pornography.
Ineffective Detection:
It’s very difficult for agencies to detect the activities of child pornography and monitor them effectively.
Obscenity on OTT:
Availability of obscene content on regular websites and OTT (over the top) services make it difficult to differentiate between the non-vulgar content and vulgar content.
