News Highlight
The CBI conducted searches across India as part of pan-India operation “Mega Chakra” against the online circulation and sharing of Child Sexual Abusive Material.
Key Takeaway
- A similar exercise code-named “Operation Carbon” was launched by the CBI, with many being booked under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act).
Reasons for Child Pornography
- Digital technologies
- Mobile and digital technologies have amplified child abuse and exploitation. New forms of child abuse, like online bullying, harassment, and child pornography, have also emerged.
- Low Conviction Rate and monitoring
- The conviction rate under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is only about 32% if one takes the average of the past five years, and the percentage of pending cases is 90%.
- As the public reporting of circulation of online Child Sexual Abusive Material (CSAM) is meagre, and there is no system of automatic electronic monitoring.
- Judicial Delay
- The Kathua Rape case took 16 months for the main accused to be convicted, whereas the POCSO Act mentions that the entire trial and conviction process has to be done in one year.
- Lack of awareness
- Sometimes, children don’t know about the legislation and legal protection against abuse.
- Conceal the cases
- Sexual abuse against children is often not reported. Sometimes the cases are amicably settled.
- Law loopholes
- In India, viewing adult pornography privately is not an offence; seeking, browsing, downloading or exchanging child pornography is punishable under the IT Act.
Impact of Pornography
- Individual impact
- Porn creates a psychological impact on individuals. It is associated with depression, anger, and anxiety. It can lead to mental distress. It also impacts day-to-day functioning, the biological clock, work, and social relationships.
- Societal impact
- Watching porn may trigger child abuse and crimes against women, leading to social unrest.
- Sexual addiction
- According to some experts, pornography is an addiction. It produces a similar effect on the brain as that produced by the regular consumption of drugs or alcohol regularly.
- Behavioural impact
- Male adolescents who view pornography frequently are more likely to view women as sex objects and commodities.
International initiatives
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- It is a non-profit organisation in the United States that operates a programme called CyberTipline, for public and electronic service providers (ESPs) to report instances of suspected child sexual exploitation.
- Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
- It is a non-profit organisation established by the United Kingdom’s Internet industry to ensure a safe online environment for users with a particular focus on Child Sexual Abusive Material (CSAM).
- INHOPE
- It is a global network of 50 hotlines that provides the public with a way to report CSAM anonymously.
India’s initiative
- Aarambh India
- It is a Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation that partnered with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), and launched India’s first online reporting portal in 2016 to report images and videos of child abuse.
- The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched a national cybercrime reporting portal in 2018 to file online complaints about child pornography and rapegang rape.
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- The Act penalised the storage of pornographic material for commercial purposes with a punishment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
- However, the bill increases it to 3-5 years.
Way forward
- The banning of pornography
- Child porn and porn showing sexual violence should be banned immediately.
- India should explore all options and adopt an appropriate strategy to fight the production and the spread of online CSAM.
- Awareness
- Awareness and sex education are a must and should be made compulsory in schools.
- Public-private participation
- Building partnerships with industry to develop tools using artificial intelligence for darkweb investigations, tracing the identity of users engaged in cryptocurrency transactions to purchase child pornography online and liaisoning with financial service companies to prevent online payments purchasing child pornography.
- New-age technologies
- Parents and teachers must be skilled at dealing with children in the modern era and technology.
- Open conversations
- It is essential for parents and teachers to be able to initiate open conversations about their children’s online experiences.
- Implement The Jairam Ramesh committee recommendations
- The Committee recommended that India sign agreements with other countries to share information in dark web investigations.
- The Committee recommended that the National Crime Records Bureau mandatorily record and report all cases of child pornography.
Content Source: The Hindu