“It was just me and my husband, we would go from the [police] station to home, and from there back to the station; just crying all the time. But once our madams came into the picture, we got some strength. They took care of everything properly – took us to court safely, got us immediate help when the accused was harassing my husband, and even came to our home. When our madams are there with us, why would we be scared?” said a woman, the mother of a child who was sexually abused. The “madams” she is referring to are support persons who helped her and her child while the POCSO case was ongoing. The woman’s voice recording was played to emphasise the role and importance of support persons at the launch of a handbook for them on Thursday, March 10.
The Handbook for Support Persons 2021 – Assisting Child Victims of Sexual Violence has been put together by UNICEF, and Indian child rights NGOs Enfold Proactive Health Trust and Prerna. Put together over a year, the handbook has consensual interviews with child survivors over the age of 12, their families, support persons, healthcare providers, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) officials and others.
“The handbook is a guide and ready reference as per the POCSO Rules 2020 which provides rules for support persons in POCSO cases. It helps support persons understand their roles and responsibilities with respect to the Act, the child, the authorities, agencies, and other stakeholders,” said Suja Sukumaran of Enfold at the launch.
The POCSO Rules 2020 defines a support person as someone “assigned by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) […] to render assistance to the child through the process of investigation and trial, or any other person assisting the child in the pre-trial or trial process in respect of an offence under the Act.” The support person may not only guide and help the survivor and their family through processes like medical examination, filing the complaint, evidence collection and therapeutic intervention, but also liaison with other departments involved in the process such as medical practitioners, law enforcement, legal counsel and so on.
Justice Ravindra Bhat, who was the chief guest at the online launch of the handbook and also the chariperson of the the Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee, said that support persons act as a “link or buffer for families and victims with the legal system to encourage reporting.” He said this in the context of acknowledging that dealing with the criminal justice system is often retraumatising for the survivors and their families, in addition to the psychological impact of the sexual abuse itself.
Dr Jagadeesh Narayanreddy, a forensic medicine expert who was on the online panel at the launch of the handbook, said, “The handbook will go a long way in helping support persons expand their understanding and awareness too – for instance, that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act allows for the termination of a foetus less than 24 weeks old.” The handbook also looks at POCSO rules and guidelines for support persons in relation to other laws like the MTP Act.
Those organising the launch, including people from Enfold, Prerna and UNICEF Chief of Child Protection Soledad Herrero said that support persons can play a crucial role in increasing reporting of child sexual abuse. “There is high prevalence yet invisibility of sexual violence, because it is grounded in harmful norms. Sexual violence is seen in the domain of the private sphere, with the perception being that sexual violence affects the honour and prestige of the family rather than the rights and well-being of the child. This is why the POCSO Act and the role of support persons is relevant,” Soledad said.
Justice Bhat added that support persons can play an important role in recognising signs of depression, post-traumatic stress, suicide ideation and substance abuse in survivors, who, due to the psychological impact of the sexual violence, may be more vulnerable to these conditions. “Besides recognising these signs that parents and families may not be able to, well-trained and equipped support persons can ensure that a complaint is comprehensively dealt with, including providing support to the child to heal too,” he said.
Vidya Reddy of Tulir – Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse said that both aspects – to ease a young person’s engagement with the justice delivery system as well as the healing aspect – are equally important. “Other stakeholders also need to understand that they can work effectively in their roles without being distracted and overwhelmed, and support persons, by being the buffer between the child and system, can allow stakeholders to do their job more effectively. This also means that the system’s suspicion and mistrust towards support persons needs to go away. Sometimes, it can look as though we are treading on people’s toes because we are looking over their shoulder to ensure things are being done correctly. However, these territorial concerns need to be forgotten so we can move towards a convergence approach for working towards the child’s well-being,” she explained.
The handbook can be accessed here. It will be translated into Hindi soon, and can be translated into other local languages as well.