Violation of Innocence: Child Sexual Abuse and the Law

Abstract

A society is judged by the way it treats its women and children. So is a judicial system. Nothing is more horrifying than the sexual abuse of a child: nothing more reprehensible than a judicial system that subsequently victimises the victim, police behaviour that adds terror to agony. Surekha Raman examines the legal provisions that apply to sexually abused children and underscores the need for a sympathetic judiciary and special legal provisions that would give succour to the victim. The law itself, coupled with the methods of investigation and cross-examined need to be overhauled, she argues, if we are to take even one small step in aiding an abused child’s process of recovery.