Rehabilitation

Working Group

9 Key Issues

1. How do we define ‘Rehabilitation’?- how many times is the word ‘rehabilitation’ mentioned in POCSO law?2. Stakeholders responsible for the rehabilitation of child victims of sexual offences.3. Need to shift perspective from shelter based rehabilitation to community and family based rehabilitation.4. Appointments of Support Persons.

9 Key Issues

5.Role of Support Persons.6. Is there a need to further articulate section 19(5) to help police understand children in need of care and protection.7. Articulating the role of CWC in POCSO cases.8. Common template for enquiry and assessment.9. Manodhairya

1.How do we define

‘Rehabilitation’?

• Version 1For victims of CSA, rehabilitation is a process of empowering to build physical and psychological resilience and competence that facilitates social, cultural, economic and political reintegration and recovery, despite childhood experiences of trauma, abuse and violence.• Version 2For victims of CSA, rehabilitation is a process of empowerment that results in physical and psychological resilience and competence that facilitates social, cultural, economic and political reintegration and recovery, despite childhood experiences of trauma, abuse and violence.• Version 3For victims of CSA, rehabilitation is a process of empowerment that results in physical and psychological resilience and competence that facilitates social, cultural, economic and political recovery and reintegration into society.

How many times is the word rehabilitation mentioned in POCSO law?

• The Word ‘Rehabilitation’ appears 4 times in the POCSO law and Rules.

• Rehabilitation is mentioned in terms of providing financial compensation for the child Victim.

REHABILITATION IN POCSO

• POCSO should be read in continuum with Juvenile Justice Act to understand Rehabilitation and Social Integration.(Chapter IV)– Foster Care – Sponsorship– After Care Organization– Linkages and Coordination

Issues to be Discussed in Further Meetings

• Does ‘rehabilitation’ imply availability of services or the process of a victim turning into a survivor?

• How do we define a ‘survivor’?

Stakeholders

Stakeholders

• Police and SJPU • CWC• Support Person• DCPU• JJB (For rehab of child offenders)• Courts• Counsellors • Doctors• Child care institutions

Needs Identified

• Training in child friendly processes • Develop uniform documentation and

assessment protocols.

Need to shift perspective from Shelter Based Rehabilitation to Community &

Family-based Rehabilitation.

Challenges in Shelter Based Rehabilitation:• Quality of care • Skills of the staff to handle cases of CSA• Are shelter homes well equipped to handle

cases post conviction? • Adequate shelter homes

Role of The CWC:• Need of a dialogue with CWC • Assessment of the Child victim to give ‘under

supervision’ order• Training of CWC

Community Resource Mapping: The Need to identify community based organizations for effective supervision & follow up.

In Cases of Incest: • Community based rehabilitation to be handled

strategically• HAQ and CSJ are formulating a protocol that

will be shared once completed.

Process of Community Based Rehabilitation: CWC to Draft an Under Supervision Order which commits an NGO or an individual from a voluntary organization who will support the child through the process of rehabilitation.

Template: Under Super Vision Order

Issues to be Discussed in Further Meetings

• Role of Under supervision organization Vs. Role of Support person.

• Case Studies: – Awaiting cases to complete one year of

Intervention. – To understand the situation post-conviction.

Support Person

Appointment of a support person:• The term “ Support Person” is not used in the

orders given by CWC.• The group has worked and come up with

orders for the CWC to facilitate appointment of a support person.

Template: Appointment of Support Person Template: Police Order

Support person Vs Support organization

Support Person• Qualified Volunteer.• Responsibility of one person

Disadvantages: • Time lapse of cases, commitment

required from individual.• Saturation for an individual.

Support organization• More responsible • Organizations stay throughout.• Pool of resources• When a case involves Multiple

children, like an orphanage or School

Disadvantages• Organizations might send different

people on each cases. • Qualifications of people employed

by the organization• No scrutiny

Role of Support Person

f) “Support Person” means a person assigned by a Child Welfare Committee, in accordance with sub-rule (8) of Rule 4, to render assistance to the child through the process of Investigation and trial or any other assisting the child in the pre-trial or trial process in respect of an offence under the Act.

POCSO Rules (2)Definitions

Pre trial and Trail Vs. Investigation and Trail:

• How do we define Pre trail phase.• Is the support person appointed during the Pre trail

phase?• Role of Support person in the pre trail phase has not

been listed out in POCSO.POCSO and Maharashtra Guidelines do not mention that support person is responsible for rehabilitation.

Role of Support Persons: Majlis

Issues to be Discussed in Further Meetings

• Need to create a format for consent of the child in appointing a support person

• List of support person still not in place• Payment for the services of Support person.

The need to further articulate Section 19(5) to help police understand the child in need of care and protection

Section 19(5) of POCSO• (5) Where the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police is

satisfied that the child against whom an offence has been committed is in need if care and protection, then, it shall, after recording the reasons in writing, make

immediate arrangement to give him such care and protection (including admitting the child into shelter home or to the nearest hospital) within twenty-four hours of the report, as may be prescribed.

4 categories of child in Need of care and protection mentioned in POCSO-Rule 4 (3):– Accused living in the same or shared household

with the child.– Child living in an institution.– Child without parental support– Child found without any home or parental

support.

Child in Need of care and Protection according to Juvenile Justice Act.

Articulating Role of CWC in POCSO Cases

Reporting of Cases:

• Section 19(6) : Police reports to CWC• Mandatory Reporting : CWC Reports to Police

Recording the statement: – CWC has magisterial powers , but they cannot

record an official statement – Additional pressure on child– Understanding the difference between intake

recording and recording the statement– Value of statement recorded by CWC– Validity of the statement under special

circumstances.

• Training Required for CWC• Tips to interact with Children for CWC present

in the toolkit.

Issues To Be Discussed By The Group

• Indicators for closure of cases by CWC• Training for CWC on POCSO• Need legal opinion on if the statement

recorded by the CWC is a valid piece of evidence.

Inquiry and Assessment

Responsible Individuals:– Probation officer– District Child protection Unit– Case worker– Person in charge from a voluntary organization

Template: Order for Home Reports

Various Formats Used for Home Reports:– International Justice Mission– Prerana– Government Format followed by DCPU– Majlis

Is it necessary to do a separate assessment for Manodhairya scheme?

Issues To be Discussed by the Group

Risk Assessment Tool Kit

• Risk Assessment Indicators Need to be Given to Support Person/Organization working on rehabilitation.

Manodhairya

Manodhairya

• No uniformity in the practice.• Need of assessment – According to 357A -5

District Legal services Authority will conduct an enquiry and award compensation within two months

• Who is responsible for the accountability of funds disbursed?

Issues to Be Discussed By the Group

• Flow charts and Checklists for Police and CWC• Need to look at Factors that – Demotivate Families from giving up at trail phase– Result in Victimization of Victim

Group Members

• Priti Patkar, Prerana• Pooja Kandula,Aarambh Initiative• Christine Charles, Majlis• Suvarchala G, Jeevan Aadhaar• Chandni Parekh, Counselor• Manisha Tupule, CCWC Chairperson, Raigad District• Janavi Doshi, The Foundation• Sunitha Joseph, ACT• Shalini Newbigging ,IJM• Alpa Vora , UNICEF