Understanding that sexual abuse can be prevented and healing from abuse is possible helps parents respond with calm and confidence rather than react in fear or panic, says Psychologist Namrata Joshi.
A teacher who asked other students to slap a Muslim boy in a school in Muzaffarnagar surrendered at a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court and was released on bail, an official said on Friday.
Justice Ganediwala this month acquitting a 39-year-old man for groping a minor girl, noting that there was no "skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent" has faced severe flak.
A 14-year-old girl from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly raped after being held hostage for three days by a man, whom she had befriended on a social media platform, along with his friend in neighbouring Mandla district, police said.
The horrific crime, which resulted in the girl becoming pregnant, came to light on June 9 after she filed a complaint recently.
Delhi police arrest 13 individuals, including minors, for the murder and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy, allegedly in retaliation for informing on a rival gang member.
The court said that the accused "inserted this metallic rod inside the private parts of the deceased so mercilessly that even the flesh/ body part separating vagina and anus also got torn." Further, the doctor had also opined that the injuries were sufficient to cause death, the court said.
As per a complaint lodged by parents, the teacher allegedly took five girl students to the washroom and strip-searched them after a mobile phone rang during class at a government girls' higher secondary school on August 2, an official said.
The order was passed by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra on a revision petition filed by two persons who moved the court, challenging the order of a Special Judge of Kasganj by which the court had summoned them under Section 376 of IPC apart from other sections.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yediyurappa, facing a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act charge, returned to Bengaluru on Saturday and said he will appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on June 17 for questioning.
The police said the ordeal began for the student in December 2022, when she was putting up at a city hostel. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey said the case was registered on Friday after she approached the Kalyanpur police station.
Legal experts had deplored the observation of the Allahabad high xourt on what constitutes a rape charge, calling for a restraint by judges and underlining the drop in public confidence in the judiciary due to such statements.
A 54-year-old woman who accused senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yediyurappa of allegedly sexually abusing her 17-year-old daughter died at a private hospital in Bengaluru due to lung cancer, police said on Monday.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for November 12 to address the statutory age of consent for adolescents, emphasizing the need for a continuous and comprehensive examination of the issue. The Centre defends the current age of consent, while an amicus curiae suggests lowering it.
A woman accused the India hockey player of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor.
The girl had not attended school from January 3, following which an inquiry was done by the school in person visiting her home.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala recently acquitted a man accused of groping a 12-year-old girl's breast because he did not make skin-to-skin contact and days earlier, ruled that holding the hands of a five-year-old girl and unzipping the trousers do not amount to "sexual assault" under the POCSO Act.
A special court in India has sentenced a man to "triple death sentence" for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl last year. The court deemed the crime "rarest of rare" and declared the accused "extremely cruel and bestial." His mother and sister were also sentenced to two years in prison for helping to cover up the crime.
The observations came from a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala while reserving the verdict on an appeal filed by NGOs -- Just Rights for Children Alliance of Faridabad and New Delhi-based Bachpan Bachao Andolan -- challenging a Madras high court verdict.
Police in Thane have arrested a school principal and staff member after allegations that girl students were forced to strip to check for menstruation. The incident sparked outrage among parents, leading to protests and a police investigation.
The convicted person, who sexually assaulted a minor girl in 2015, was sentenced to 10 years of rigourous imprisonment by a Special Judge at Eluru in West Godavari district in 2016, including a penalty of Rs 5,000 levied on him.
Two persons were arrested for alleged voyeurism after some female students at a private engineering college in Medchal, near Hyderabad, accused the cooking staff of recording them in the hostel washrooms, police said on Sunday.
In a judgment passed on January 19, the Bombay high court has said groping a minor's breast without 'skin-to-skin contact' cannot be termed sexual assault as defined under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The victim alleged that he was being sexually assaulted for nearly two years, they said.
A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in 2021, relying on the deposition of the six-year-old victim and other prosecution witnesses.
A 14-year-old boy was made to lick shoes and perform 'unnatural sex' on three of his friends, who also recorded the act and put its video on social media, in south Delhi's Hauz Khas area, police said on Monday.
A Bengaluru court on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa in the case registered against him under the POCSO Act on March 14 this year.
The Supreme Court has said that grounds like "there was a love affair" between the girl and the accused and there was alleged "refusal to marry" will have no bearing on the grant of bail in a POCSO case.
Following the granting of a three-month interim bail to religious preacher Asaram Bapu, police in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, have heightened security measures at the residence of the rape survivor's family. The family, who have expressed concerns for their safety, will now need to inform the police before traveling outside the district. Asaram was convicted in 2018 for sexually assaulting a minor girl in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment. His latest conviction in Gujarat in 2023 resulted in another life sentence. The police have deployed a guard at the victim's house, provided personal gunners for her father and brother, and installed surveillance cameras. The police are also monitoring the area and have prohibited unauthorized gatherings. The victim's father expressed concern over Asaram's ability to manage his affairs from outside prison despite his health issues.
The Supreme Court on Monday used the legal term 'inchoate crime' to refer to mere possession of any child pornographic material that it said would constitute offences under the POCSO even if not disseminated further.
IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru's under-fire pacer Yash Dayal has been accused of raping a minor in an FIR registered against him by Jaipur Police.
Bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra have been suspended following attacks on buses and their crew. The decision was taken given the tension prevailing in the border district of Belagavi over a sensitive issue. The language row began after a group of people allegedly intercepted a KSRTC bus and assaulted its conductor and driver for not speaking to a passenger in Marathi. The passenger, a minor girl, also filed a complaint stating that the conductor misbehaved with her. However, the family of the minor girl has decided to withdraw the case and urged people to stop escalating the matter into a language dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The police arrested the accused on Thursday and booked him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, an official said.
The survivor's father claimed the family had been cheated by their lawyer who did not file an objection to Asaram's bail plea despite getting all the papers ready.
Observing that 'oral sex' with a minor does not come under the 'aggravated sexual assault' category in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Allahabad high court has reduced the jail term of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy from 10 years to seven years.
The Supreme Court has extended the benefits of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act to minors who engage in consensual sexual activity by exempting doctors from disclosing their identity to the local police.
According to the procedure, all reports of the law panel are submitted to the Union law ministry, which then forwards those to the ministries concerned.
An FIR has been lodged in this case against the junior doctor of the pediatric department of the SN Medical College and Hospital, they said.
The girl from Bihar -- who had been living in the hostel with her sister -- alleged in her complaint on Tuesday that the tiffin boy repeatedly raped her while the hostel owner warned her against disclosing the incident, Superintendent of Police (Kota City) Sharad Choudhary said.
The alleged crime in the ambulance being operated under '108' emergency service took place on November 22 and two of the four accused in the case, including the driver, have been arrested, they said.