Death: The penalty for sex assault on minors, POCSO

There is nothing more savage and greater in punishment other than death for having committed a gory crime. And speaking of gory crimes, there’s perhaps nothing more heinous a sexual assault- whether through rape, torture- toward a minor.

But when you put the above crime in the perspective of what’s hurting the civil society the most, you come to realize that only death should serve an answer to what they are doing to minors out there.

Having said that, it was about time that the law of the country did something about the whole issue- right? And thankfully, with all regards to the lawmakers of the nation, a piece of positive news has arrived on the horizon.

The Union Cabinet, it is reported, on Friday, December 29, 2018, has announced that critical amendments are on their way for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012. What this will do is that it will fundamentally and eventually tighten the noose around the perpetrators.

In a detailed report published in the Times of India in regards to POCSO, more details were published as follows:

“The significance in the changes adopted by the Cabinet lies in the list of the crime situations that fall in this category is that it will, in a first include a person who takes advantage of a child in a situation of natural calamity to commit a sexual assault that causes the death of the victim.”

Having said that, it is important for the country to note and acknowledge the work of the Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD), that has pioneered (suggested) these amendments that now require the next logical step.

And speaking of the next move, the said amendments need to now be tabled in the Parliament to become ‘law.’

To elaborate further, when this particular step happens, that is the time when actually the punishment will attract a death sentence for the culprit or the perpetrator of the violent crime. Therefore, in that regard, what’s most important is to understand that the way forward is that POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) is only going to get tougher as time progresses.

The Law Minister, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, is of the view that these amendments are critical in the sense that they are required to deter the rising trend of child sexual abuse in the country.

And if one were to actually think of the above from a layman perspective, then one would understand that the time to act tough on serious offences and heinous activities such as sexual acts against children is now- more than ever. So let’s come together and ensure that our children are protected and safe, more than ever.