Online Child Safety from Sexual Abuse in India

Abusing children with the aid of information and communication technologies is becoming a worldwide problem. In the context of the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, wherein terrorists used internet, mobile and satellite technology in communication, an urgent need for enacting laws for controlling new-media crimes was felt in India. The existing Information Technology Act of India, 2000 contains a general provision in section 67 which punishes the publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form. The Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 was passed by the Indian Parliament in December 2008 and received Presidential assent in February 2009. A final notification remains for its entry into force. The Amendment Act includes a new section 67B wherein electronically depicting children in sexually explicit acts, as well as abusing children online has been made an offence and punishment prescribed accordingly. A new subsection 2 (ha) also extends the term ‗computer network' to include ‗communication device' which includes cell phones. Despite these progressive steps taken to protect children online, considerable limitations still remain. This paper suggests a definition of the offence of ‗Online Child Sexual Abuse'. It examines initiatives taken by the US, UK, EU and other international agencies against sexual abuse of children through the internet. and tries to strengthen the law in India relating to online child sexual abuse. A multi-layer approach of governance comprising of techniques for promotion of child safety measures, prevention of the offence and protection of the child is seen as essential for India to combat online child sexual abuse and developing a civil society which is pro-active to the needs of children. Keywords Online sexual grooming-inadvertent/accidental access-online child sex abuse images/child pornography-online child sexual abuse