[The ‘Palathayi’ case refers to a shocking instance of child abuse — of a 10-year-old female child in Palathayi, Kerala, by her school teacher, K Padmarajan, a noted BJP leader. Not just the act, but also the way in which the police and the ruling CPM handled it contributed to the public outrage around it. Worse, the child counselors’ role in intimidating the child, bombarding it with invasive, sexualised and irrelevant leading questions, and the police’s long interrogations, revealed, once again, the terrible rot in Kerala’s child protection machinery. The police investigation proved extremely biased in favour of the accused, and the team had to be replaced after protests by activists including feminists, and the family’s pleas. Despite complaints by the child’s mother against the counselors, the higher authorities, including the much-romanticized Minister for Women and Children of that time, K K Shailaja, did little to deliver justice. The verdict of the court in this case which sentenced the accused to life imprisonment, condemned the counselors’ questioning and asked for immediate action against them. The counselor was suspended after the verdict, but suspension hardly suffices as a punishment form blatant verbal rape of a ten year old.

Althea has been raising concerns about the state of child welfare, especially of female children from historically-marginalized social groups and family circumstances in Kerala even before. It is apparent that we need to keep speaking about it, and we will. This statement appeared first in the Malayalam online journal Truecopy Think. This is a translation of the original Malayalam statement by Gayatri Devi, who is part of Althea.]

When we claim that the Palathayi POCSO rape case verdict is a just one, we must simultaneously acknowledge that it raises several important matters to public attention. To this end, we urge the enlightened civil society and the government of Kerala not to allow these matters to be restricted to one isolated case. Because, in our observation, over the last decade, the child protection systems as well as the training and counseling systems available for women and children in the state are very weak. Under the circumstances, we believe that instituting the following changes is imperative:

1. POCSO Investigation Protocol: The most dangerous lapses appear to occur during the stage of the police investigation. The problem is that the investigation protocol for POCSO cases is not flawless. As a result, when there are lapses in the investigation, we find that the victims themselves are forced to wander through the corridors of the legal system appealing to correct the mistakes.  It is no coincidence that often the victims in such cases tend to be those with little political and social capital and those who lack the necessary resources to pursue such remediations. For instance, in the Palathayi case, the investigation properly commenced only when the mother of the survivor approached the court system expressing lack of faith in the existing investigation and requesting the appointment of another investigating team. This situation is very difficult for POCSO survivors. POCSO investigation protocol should be made unimpeachable.

POCSO investigations should be reconceptualized and reorganized with a focus on the safety and mental stability of the affected children. To that end, age-appropriate child-centered forensic interviews, video-recorded statements, and non-repetitive forensic deposition processes should be made mandatory standard protocol in all districts to avoid the secondary psychological trauma visited upon child survivors who are forced to recount the same incident repeatedly to different teams.  In addition, it should be clearly written into law that the shortcomings in the investigation, incorrect protocols, lack of documentation, failure to collect facts, lack of or failure to collect forensic evidence etc. should not affect the credibility of the child’s statement or the identification of the perpetrator. Ensuring through legal accountability that “Investigation lapses shall not prejudice against the child” is essential to ensure that the child’s legal rights are not violated due to the mistakes of investigating officers. This step will strengthen the principle of child-centric justice that recognizes the child’s statement as primary and independent evidence.

1. Disciplinary Actions and POCSO Cases: Strong disciplinary action against those who commit lapses in POCSO cases is rare. The protection given to Sojan in the Walayar case is a case in point. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that in the Anupama Chandran case, Advocates Sunanda, Shiju Khan, Dhanya Shine et al were protected in their careers even though it was clear that they had made egregious professional mistakes. Although inhumane conduct by those in charge of child protection agencies has been noted in many other POCSO cases, none of them have been punished. The suspension of the counselor in the Palathayi case cannot be considered sufficient action here. Especially since that was achieved only after a separate appeals process notwithstanding the strong condemnation of professional misconduct made in the court judgement/verdict. Victims are forced to seek redress at higher levels of the hierarchy of power; that is, failings that could have been resolved at the levels of the child welfare committee or the police had to be escalated to the ministerial level for justice to be served.  This has not only severely affected the privacy of the child victim, but also revictimized her and her family.

Suspension is not even a punishment, especially for temporary work. It is not uncommon that a person suspended from one position at the end of their tenure would be rehired in another position the following year. The fact that the identity of the person who made such grievous mistakes is not made public only strengthens the suspicion that this person is protected, especially considering CPM’s blatant nepotism in such government appointments in the last decade. Actions that are needed include permanently removing those who commit professional lapses from child protection responsibilities, preventing them from providing child counseling services, and filing police cases against them. It is worth highlighting here that such actions have already taken place in Kerala. When the chairman of Palakkad Child Welfare Committee was removed from his post in 2020 in connection with the Walayar case, the order also ruled that he would no longer be considered to serve in government posts related to children. We must not forget that children are not only the most vulnerable segments of our society, but they are also the future of our society.

Counseling and Training Related Requirements and POCSO Cases: It is also clear that while training in counseling etc is a mandated qualification for child welfare staff appointments, the content of such training is often problematic. Indian laws for the protection of children and women mandate that the socio-economic and structural aspects of cases and the power relations embedded in them be adequately considered. However, often the counselors’ approach is to ignore these material factors and create psychological or cultural explanations that only serve to revictimize the victims.  There is evidence to suggest that, intentionally or unintentionally, the old-fashioned structural-functionalist counseling approach is at the forefront of government-mediated counseling.  The argument that individuals are part of institutions such as family, community etc., and that their rights and interests should not undermine the integrity of such institutions, and, instead be subordinated to such establishment and institutional interests is clear in the advice programs and talk shows of many people who talk about their counseling work on YouTube and elsewhere today.  While they may espouse that couples who are incompatible should separate, their fundamental understanding appears to be that women and children should be able to function as components of the institution of marriage and that of the institution of the patriarchal family. This framework contravenes the constitutional values that underwrite Indian women’s protection and child protection laws. It also justifies the tendency to reduce the condition of victims to psychological factors or their “cultural deficiencies.”  Therefore, there should be a committed effort on the part of the civil society to evaluate critically the curriculum and educational activities taking place in the name of counseling training as well as the counseling content of Social Work syllabi.

Audit of Extracurricular Activities in schools: Today, there are increasing numbers of training activities and counseling opportunities that are intricately connected to the day-to-day life of children, both in and out of school. In today’s context, where extracurricular activities are gaining importance and often increase the market value of academic achievements, the government needs to create a strict code of conduct for those who are temporarily appointed to teach students dance, sports, karate etc. It needs to create and enforce strict guidelines to ensure transparency in police verification, hiring criteria, and mandatory reporting protocols. It shall be mandated that whether these are permanent employees of the school or adjunct hires, if they fail to protect the safety of the children under their care, or violate them, the school management and the PTA will be held responsible. Further, it should be made clear at both the local and state levels, what checks and balances would be put into place to avoid such lapses from recurring, while ensuring that mandatory punishment and public disclosure be ascribed to the school authorities and the PTA should they fail to enforce these requirements.

1. Mandated Reporter Legislation: It shall be legally mandated that adults working in close proximity with children in the following capacities be deemed mandated reporters with the legal responsibility to report sexual or other forms of abuse of children if they become aware of it. Children shall not be required to disclose such information directly to mandated reporters though they may choose to do so. The following categories of adults shall be legally required to report suspected child abuse if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child has been abused or is undergoing abuse. If they suspect that abuse is taking place, mandatory reporters shall file a report with the relevant authority. Responsible department and authorities shall begin investigating the reports submitted within 24 hours. A protocol for mandatory reporting shall be instituted at the state level.

List of Mandatory Reporters:

School employees: Principal, headmaster/headmistress, teachers, teachers’ aides, peons, security personnel, PTA members, temporary and contractual school employees, school counselors, social workers, childcare services workers (such as Anganwadi workers, for instance) in contact with children during school hours

Healthcare facility, clinic, and hospital employees: Employees of a healthcare facility, and health department licensed providers engaged in the health examination (physical and mental), care, or treatment of children

Religious and spiritual services employees: Priests, clergy, ministers, spiritual leaders, spiritual healers, and other employees and volunteers at places of worship

Paid or Unpaid Workers who are an integral part of a regularly scheduled event, activity, or service that involves direct contact with children

Employees of social service agencies who have direct contact with children in the course of their work

Employees of public and parochial libraries who have direct contact with children in the course of their work

Independent vendors and contractors who have direct contact with children in the course of their work

Foster parents, and caregivers of children with intellectual, mental, and physical impairments.

1. POCSO cases and Cyber Crime Reporting: It was reported in the media that the Kerala Police has recently started a special Victim Identification Task Force (VIDTF) training program for those investigating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) cases (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/training-launched-to-tackle-csam-cases/articleshow/124219508.cms ). This program is designed to investigate cybercrimes against children.  Full details of this program, especially the communication and reporting protocol for contacting this office in cases of suspected online child abuse should be made available to every school district and school in Kerala. A simple contact information sheet in both Malayalam and English should be placed in an easily visible location in all school offices, classrooms, and student washroom areas. Anonymous reporting protocols should be made available for survivors or bystanders to submit reports of suspected online child sexual abuse. Indeed, we request that all child welfare reporting numbers, email addresses, and website information be posted in a prominent and visible area of all classrooms and common areas frequented by students in all educational institutions.

• POCSO Cases and Compensation for Survivors: There is still uncertainty regarding the amount of compensation for survivors in POCSO cases. A protocol needs to be created to ensure that children receive compensation commensurate with the trauma they have suffered. Children who have experienced sexual abuse by blood and/or close relatives should be provided with special protection, rehabilitation arrangements, and counseling and other resources when they are forced to return to their families.  This should include protocol to protect the property rights of the survivor. Timeliness should be enforced and delays avoided in all the above. It is our understanding that a huge discrepancy exists between the amount allocated in the budget and the amount of compensation that the survivors receive.  The amount of compensation should be calculated factoring the living conditions of the child plaintiffs in the POCSO cases, the severity of the abuse they have endured, the impact and risk to the family, as well as the long-term psychological and social needs of the survivor. To this end, a Child-Impact Reparation Index should be created in a transparent manner.

In conclusion, we emphasize that the current practice of turning child rights violations into a back-and-forth blame game for political parties is extremely dangerous. A government and society that do not hesitate to perpetrate heinous injustices against the most powerless and vulnerable segments of a society cannot be called democratic. The deployment of child abuse cases for political gain should be rightfully seen as criminal misuse of child rights. This is something that both the leftists who boast about Kerala and the Hindutva right who disparage Kerala need to recognize. Whatever the objective of your internal rivalry might be, please do try to glorify yourself at the expense of our children.

[Althea is a group of Malayali women who practice feminist friendship.]