Sexual abuse of children has been rising rapidly and grooming is one of its emerging forms.
INTRODUCTION
The Nation has witnessed extensive legal battles for the protection of its people. One such grave issue is sexual offences against children. Defined literally, it refers to “any sexual activity perpetrated against a minor by threat, force, intimidation, or manipulation. The array of sexual activities thus includes fondling, inviting a child to touch or be touched sexually, intercourse, rape, incest, sodomy, exhibitionism, involving a child in prostitution or pornography, or online child luring by cyber predators”. It can affect children physically, mentally, and emotionally, and with long-lasting impacts. Children who experience sexual abuse are highly prone to mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Such abuse can promote tendencies of self-harm, substance abuse, lowered self-confidence, etc. Child abuse is possible in every social setting like schools, parks, roads, and even in homes. Most of the time, the perpetrators are known to the children. They may be relatives, house helpers, parent’s acquaintances, or employers in case of child labour. There are different forms of child abuse ranging from physical touch to online platforms like exhibitionism, sexual assault, rape, grooming, child pornography, etc.
GROOMING AND ITS SURGE
Sometimes, a perpetrator tries to gain a child’s trust and manipulate him. Grooming can be done online or through physical mode. Research says, “This process begins with identifying potential victims, gaining their trust, and breaking down their defences. These grooming tactics are often directed at potential youth victims as well as the adult caregivers—parents, other youth-serving professionals, and the community at large.” By gaining such trust, the perpetrators manipulate children and initiate sexual advances on them. This may include exhibitionism, voyeurism, pornography, and rape. The offender in this case is already known to the child as a relative, family friend, or any other person of authority, for instance, a caretaker. If he/she is initially unknown, they try to befriend the child and make the victim act to their wish.
The exploitation happens mainly because the perpetrator acts in authority mainly due to age and mostly, pre-decided motive. For the child, it may look like a close relationship where they trust the perpetrator believing him/her to be more experienced. The perpetrator may also use tactics like gaining the trust of parents or caretakers to connect more with the children and reduce the chance of suspicion. After being successful with the trust-gaining process, perpetrators begin sexualising the relationship. It may include initiating physical touch, sharing sexually coloured content, exchanging naked pictures, and also sexual intercourse, which amounts to rape in the case of a girl child under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 63.
In State v. Ismail Kadar, the POCSO Court in Mumbai addressed the grooming of children with sexual intent. The court sentenced the offender to six months, showing concerns regarding the victim’s mental health.
There has been a rapid rise in the cases where grooming takes place. The identified reason could be technological advancements and increased usage of social media. According to an experimental study,” among the participants 99% endorsed experiencing at least one sexual grooming behaviour, with an average of 14.25 sexual grooming behaviours out of a possible 42 (range = 0-36) reported per survivor.” There has been a rise in online grooming since COVID-19, where an adult tries to build an emotional connection with the victim via social media. Research and data indicate that online grooming is primarily carried out by males, who frequently choose their victims based on attractiveness, ease of access, and the ability to exploit the minor’s vulnerabilities.
CONSEQUENCES OF GROOMING
Grooming ultimately aims to sexual abuse in one or other forms. It can have both short-term and long-term effects. A child who underwent sexual abuse can have prolonged physical, mental, and emotional outcomes. They may go through depression, anxiety, substance abuse, social awkwardness, etc. The victims are generally seen to have relationship issues with their family and friends and are hesitant to make new friends.
Grooming as a process is interlinked with a child’s cognitive development, socio-economic stage, family/interpersonal dynamics, and other aspects of development. Grooming’s impact can sometimes be even more than the actual abuse. Grooming in India is particularly not punishable. However, the POCSO Act criminalises such behaviour under section 11 by expressing sexual intent. .
RECOGNISING EFFECTS OF GROOMING
To prevent children from being victims of sexual abuse parents, teachers, or elders need to recognise behavioural changes and changed preferences of children to protect them from grooming. Sometimes the changes seem normal due to adolescence but may result from such manipulation. The child may act secretive or avoid discussions about their personal space, may indulge in a relationship with an adult, may be involved in alcoholism or smoking before the prescribed age, or may seem distressed. In the case of online grooming, the child may prefer spending more time online or may even not like discussing the same.
CONCLUSION
Grooming is a rising problem in promoting sexual offences against children. Indian law has not recognised this term particularly except in the above-discussed section 11 of the POCSO Act 2012. Although, POCSO has recognized and penalized the offences related to the sexual abuse of children grooming remains a persistent issue. India has not provided provisions for the issue of online grooming, unlike other countries. Such as in the UK, the Sexual Offences Act of 2003 criminalises “meeting a child following sexual grooming” when such meetings originate online. Also, the punishment for such offences in the POCSO Act is limited.
Before amending the laws, the initial effort is to prevent the encouragement of such perpetrators. Children’s daily activities should be monitored online and offline, without suffocating their privacy. This can be done by paying more attention to their behaviour and changing habits. A child undergoing such manipulation requires parental or an expert’s support. They should be assured and heard without a prior judgment. The parents or guardians should be aware of the online platforms their kids are using and the content they watch must be healthy. Uncensored content might also slide them into such early-age relationships of sexual nature. Most importantly, children must be made aware of the ill effects of socializing more with strangers online and sharing much information about them. The caretakers and acquaintances in children’s day-to-day contact must be completely verified and monitored most of the time. A little more prevention can ensure a safer childhood, shielding them from sexual perpetrators. Sexual abuse may retard a child’s overall development and each individual as a parent, teacher, caregiver, professional or a mere elder has a legal or moral duty toward their protection.
Author(s) Name: Esha Singh (Faculty of Law, Delhi University)
