Child Sexual Abuse- Abridging the Gap between Legislation and Reformal Needs

Laws pertaining to child sexual abuse in India are very archaic and to some extent, the sensitivity of this issue is largely ignored. The deficiency of reported cases in the country is increasing alarmingly. Adequate legislation is largely observed in India that still lacks certain mandatory reporting procedures which is a hindrance upon law enforcement agencies. Due to the absence of legal obligations, there was a significant absence of statistics concerning child sexual abuse in India. Child sexual abuse is a social reality that does not receive support from communities and public-spirited organizations which is a hindrance to criminal proceedings against the offenders because the justice system never plays a proactive role. Therefore, many NGOs and other organizations including social activists have played a pivotal role in accepting the pressure upon the government in formulating the laws concerning the protection of children and to collect various statistics about the extent to which children are subject to sexual abuse and also emphasize the need for enactment of various stringent laws. Therefore, this research paper focuses on the progressives’ efforts that have been taken upon by the Indian legislation to protect the rights of children. The lacuna in the legislation which leads to gaps in its implementation. And the reformatory measures that both the central and state government must adopt to strengthen the Criminal Justice System in India.