The Centre has notified a set of new rules enabling implementation of the recent amendments to the POCSO Act under which provisions of punishment for child abuse have been made more stringent.
Some significant addition in the rules include provision of mandatory police verification of school and care home staff, procedures to report sexual abuse material such as pornography and imparting age-appropriate child rights education.
Regarding crackdown on child pornography, the rules state that "any person who has received any pornographic material involving a child or any information regarding such pornographic material being stored, possessed, distributed, circulated, transmitted, facilitated, propagated or displayed, or is likely to be distributed, facilitated or transmitted in any manner shall report the contents to the special juvenile police unit (SJPU) or police, or the cybercrime portal".
"The report shall include details of the device in which such pornographic content was noticed and the suspected device from which such content was received including the platform on which the content was displayed," the rules state.
Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Rules, 2020, state governments have been asked to formulate a child protection policy based on the principle of "zero-tolerance" to violence against children.
The police shall be adopted by all institutions, organisations, or any other agency working with, or coming in contact with children, the rules state.
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"The central government and every state government shall provide periodic training including orientation programmes, sensitisation workshops and refresher courses to all persons, whether regular or contractual, coming in contact with the children, to sensitise them about child safety and protection and educate them regarding their responsibility under the Act," it said.
The Centre and state governments have been asked to prepare age-appropriate educational material and curriculum for children, informing them about various aspects of personal safety, including measures to protect physical and virtual identity; to safeguard emotional and mental wellbeing, prevention and protection from sexual offences and reporting mechanisms, including Childline helpline services through toll-free number -- 1098.
"Orientation programme and intensive courses may also be organised for police personnel and forensic experts for building their capacities in their respective roles on a regular basis," it said.
Under the new rules, any institution housing children or coming in regular contact with them, such as schools, creches, sports academies or any other facility, must ensure periodic police verification and background check for every staff.
The new POCSO rules became effective from March 9.
The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012 to provide a robust legal framework for the protection of children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, while safeguarding the interests of children at every stage of the judicial process.
Lauding the notification of the new rules, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi termed it a huge policy achievement.
"New rules in law to tackle child sexual abuse is a huge policy achievement in our fight against this crime. Thanks dear bahen Smriti Irani ji for such bold steps! This will make POCSO more effective and our country, child friendly," he said in a tweet.
"Provision of mandatory police verification of staff in schools & care homes,immediate relief for victims,procedures to report sexual abuse material(porn), imparting age appropriate child rights education and monitoring indicators for state child rights bodies are significant steps," Satyarthi said.
Save the Children, a child rights body, welcomed the notification saying it focuses on timeliness and defines the processes for prevention and response to child abuse.
"One of the key provisions in the new POCSO Rules is to provide timely compensation to the victim. It reiterates the role of POCSO courts in ensuring this is done within 30 days," it said in a statement.
"We upheld the move to formulate the Child Protection policy for all institutions dealing with children, which is a welcome move, and will inculcate an atmosphere of safety among children and lead to prevention of crimes against them," the child rights body said.
The organisation said there are timelines for several actions which required to be performed under POCSO Act, 2012, and now the POCSO Rules 2020 emphasises on that while stressing on timeliness.
"However, a major issue that impacts child victim adversely is non-compliance and accountability, which has not been defined clearly. This must be looked at and monitored properly," it said.