Over a decade since The Goa Children’s Act, 2003 came into force, the legislation may be in for amendments to make it more effective and curb its misuse.
Chairperson of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Advocate Sushma Mandrekar, will bring together various stakeholders on February 9, including representatives of government agencies, children’s court judges, lawyers and children’s rights groups, to debate their proposals for amendments that would maintain uniformity with other contemporary child rights legislations, and to tackle the concerns of children’s homes and child care institutions.
“We have done a comprehensive exercise, digging out all past suggestions and recommendations, and have received fresh inputs from non governmental organisations and others. The idea is to update the Act to tackle diverse issues related to the rights and concerns of all children and adolescents,” Ms. Mandrekar said.
A few judges with experience in dealing with cases in the Goa Children’s Court and police officials have indicated that some of the provisions of the Act pertaining to rape, which are prone to misuse, need a re-look.
While the definition of ‘child’ under the Act is universal (below the age of 18), some stakeholders have suggested deleting a proviso to the Section 2(d), which says, “In so far as a victim in the offence of rape in concerned, ‘child’ shall mean any person who has not completed 16 years of age.”
“From the definition of ‘child’ in the section, the age of consent is deduced to be 18, whereas the police and courts have brought to the notice of the Commission that this provision becomes a problem when dealing with statutory rape cases, which are often clear cases of elopement,” said Ms. Mandrekar. “Judges often grapple with cases of love affairs and elopements, which often do not stand court scrutiny,” she said. This either amounts to fictitious cases, or nobody is interested in pursuing them as they are registered in a fit of anger.
Judges and police have also complained of parents misusing the Act to file cases of sexual abuse of minors against neighbours or rivals as a way to get them arrested.
In the context of the recent controversy over child care institutions across the country, the amendments are poised to bring all institutions like children’s homes, childcare institutions, and day care centres under the Act’s purview. Their registration and monitoring will be mandatory so that children in need of care and protection, juveniles in conflict with law, vulnerable children, and children from the marginalised sections get full protection.
Child rights groups want the children’s court provision to be amended from a State-level court as of now to have district children’s courts functioning in a child-friendly manner, which will be designated as special courts under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
There is also a proposal for broadening of the definition of “incest” and increase the penal provisions to bring them on par with other Acts. Incest will include commission of a sex offence by an adult on a child who is a relative “or is related by ties of adoption through blood or on adoption or marriage or guardianship or in foster care or having a domestic relationship with a parent of the child, or living in the same or shared household with the child.”
As for children with disabilities, the amendments cover learning difficulties, intellectual disability and autism, with terminology amended to comply with the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016.
The proposed amendments also include provisions to deal with child sexual abuse through digital, internet and social media platforms by making the State Directorate of Education responsible for sensitising teachers about the Goa Child Rights Act, particularly Section 4, which deals with education. The amendments propose to ensure that the department adopts zero rejection of children during admissions and inclusive education. The department will be accountable to ensure admission of children without documents, no refusal of admission for children who do not have their fathers’ names, or those suffering from HIV and AIDS, besides those belonging to marginalised communities.
It proposes to include gender justice and online safety issues into school curriculums.
The Act will also fix responsibility on the State tourism authority to frame a child-friendly tourism code.
