Dimapur, June 7 (MExN): A workshop on Child Rights and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) was conducted on June 6 for the students and teachers at Hollotoli School Dimapur by the Dimapur District Child Protection Unit in collaboration with the K.A.L. Group, Legal Practitioners and Consultants.
According to a press release, the resource persons at the programme were Pikato Tuccu, District Child Protection Officer, Esther K. Aye, partner at the K.A.L. Group and Prem Prakash, director and founder of Sarvahitey, a Delhi based NGO. The programme was chaired by Limasenla Longkumer, partner at the K.A.L. Group.
The District Child Protection Officer highlighted and spoke on the structure of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). The scheme was implemented under which State Child Protection Society (SCPS) was established at the state level and DCPU at the district level, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Pikato explained the 3 statutory mechanisms: Child Welfare Committee (CWC) which acts as a competent authority for disposing cases of child in need of care and protection, Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) also known as Child Court with matters relating to children in conflict with law, and Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) to co-ordinate and upgrade the police interface with children. He informed that at present there are 11 CWCs, 11 JJBs and currently 1 SJPU in Nagaland, one each in its respective districts.
Esther who conducted a session on the POCSO Act 2012 informed the students about good touch, bad touch and confusing touch and explained that the law mandatorily requires the educators and tutors of school institutions to report child abuse. She further explained that the law provides protection for those educators who reported such crimes. On the other hand, she also pointed out that the law penalises those who fail to meet their obligations. It was also explained that the faculty members and employees of the school institutions must be carefully screened and selected. The importance of training programs to sensitise them on the issue of child sexual abuse and zero tolerance against any form of sexual abuse was especially emphasized.
Prakash of Sarvahitey spoke briefly on the importance of awareness pertaining to such issues which would go a long way in securing the safety of children and effective prosecution of offenders. A short film on awareness on issues relating to child abuse and sexual assault was also screened for the children.
