What is child abuse ? How to prevent ? And how to report?

Child abuse is one word that is very common now a days. Recently a tailor from Delhi had made a confession that he had sexually abused over 500 children in 12 years. It is high time that we must create awareness about this among the common man about how to prevent these sexual crimes.

  Sexual abuse towards a child is called “Paedophilia”, which is a psychic disorder when a person is attracted towards a child. A person who is diagnosed with pedophilia must be at least 16 years old, but adolescents must be at least five years older than the prepubescent child for the attraction to be diagnosed as pedophilia. The individual’s with Paedophilia must have intense and recurrent sexual urges and fantacies about pre-pubertal children.

Shockingly, the last decade has seen an increase of more than 500% in crimes against children. Even with the implementation of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012, only a minuscule percentage of such cases get reported. The conviction rates in our country are extremely poor with just 1,072 cases convicted and 1,418 acquittals in 2015.

Recognizing that child sexual abuse needs urgent attention, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had launched the POCSO e-box to enable children to approach it by simply registering their email IDs and contact numbers, along with the nature of their complaint last year. The e-box has received 157 complaints so far.

What we also must consider is the fact that 95% of rapes against children in India, are committed by people known to them, therefore it becomes essential to strengthen the system within, ensuring that children remain safe in all spaces they access. An equal emphasis is required both at the prevention level as well as in the area of quicker prosecution and closure of cases.

A district-wise map depicting problems facing children across the country was released by the ministry of women and child development as a part of the National Plan of Action for Children on 24th January 2017. Prepared by NGO Childline India Foundation, the ‘Child Vulnerability Map’ covers 409 of total 678 districts in the country. It highlights vulnerabilities like child marriage, child trafficking, missing and runway children, child labour, children affected by civil unrest, child sexual abuse, dropouts and low literacy rate, malnutrition, foeticide, HIV and AIDS affected children.

  

Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra have been highlighted on the map as child trafficking-prone states, while are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as worst-affected by malnutrition. Northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, have fared poorly in tackling child malnutrition.

Aside from the physical damage that sexual abuse can cause, the emotional component is powerful and far-reaching. Sexually abused children are tormented by shame and guilt. They may feel that they are responsible for the abuse or somehow brought it upon themselves. This can lead to self-loathing and sexual problems as they grow older—often either excessive promiscuity or an inability to have intimate relations.

The shame of sexual abuse makes it very difficult for children to come forward. They may worry that others won’t believe them, will be angry with them, or that it will split their family apart. Because of these difficulties, false accusations of sexual abuse are not common, so if a child confides in you, take him or her seriously. Don’t turn a blind eye!

How to Report Child Abuse Cases

Report to the district police chief first if you found the child abuse case. You should also report to the local police station but if they are not receptive, go to the district/city police chief. You can also report to Childline or other NGOs, which focus on children's safety.

Web Sites to report child abuse cases

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/1098/b1a-telehelpline.html

http://aarambhindia.org/report/

Helpline numbers to report child abuse – Childline India Foundation

Tel: 022-2495 2610, 2495 2611, 2482 1098/ 2490 1098/ 2491 1098

To find the best lawyer for child abuse cases

https://www.licit.ooo

The dowry law - Must know things about the Protection of women against dowry abuse

In India, there is no greater event in a family than a wedding. In our society, the bride’s parents are put under extreme pressure to meet groom’s family demand and to get their daughters married. A dowry is the transfer of parental property to a daughter during her marriage, rather than at the owner's death. But now dowry is becoming burdensome for the bride's family. Antidowry laws exist but are largely ignored and often reporting severe injuries and even death of young brides. A bride's treatment in her marital home is much affected by the value of her dowry. Increasingly brides are receiving horrible incidents, particularly in urban areas, where a groom's family makes excessive demands on the bride's family--even after marriage.

Consequent to the horrible growth of dowry system, it has become a part of marriage. In fact, before fixing a marriage or engagement, dowry is demanded as a precondition. In this extremely commercial world, where nothing matters other than money, why would I lose my chance of becoming a Millionaire overnight? After all, we all love shortcuts which make us overnight rich and this is the one with a sure shot win. This is the common mentality that everyone should be punishable. There is no fear of being outcast or being looked down upon. Interventions such as raised social support at the community level should help to eradicate dowry system.

The practice of dowry is not limited up to the marriage but it continues even after it which is the cause of various social evils. Dowry is the main root cause of various social evils such as curse of physical and mental cruelty on the brides. Considering the ill consequences of dowry and the high rates of dowry-related crimes in India, Section 498A  of the Indian Penal Code was introduced as an amendment to the Indian Penal Code of 1860 by Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1983. In the year 2005, a new law – The Domestic Violence Act, 2005 was out that specified the littlest of aspect that can cause severe mental and/or physical harassment to a woman.

What is considered to be Dowry? How can you tell that it is a Dowry Demand?

Any kind of demand made by the groom or his family that involves a direct or indirect (through a third party) “deal” in relating with the wedding, is treated as dowry. It can be cash, property, valuable security or any other favors.

If the bride’s party feels that giving certain things is a pre-condition for the wedding to take place, and they give it because they worry the marriage when the groom’s family starts negotiating a ‘lesser deal,’ – that is still dowry. Or after the wedding, if the bride or her family offering as compensation for marrying their daughter into that family, then these are dowry demands.

When bride’s parents give their daughter some gifts and securities during the marriage, the woman is the absolute owner of her Stree Dhan and the husband and his family have no right to it. If the woman gives her stree-dhan to her husband and or in-laws for keeping, then they are only trustees and must return when she asks for it.

When she dies under suspicious circumstances within 7 years of her marriage, then the property has to be moved to her children or to her parents if she has no children.

A husband or his family members are pretending to be guilty till they prove their innocence in the court. The guilty is punishable by a jail term of up to three years. But the misuse of dowry law has observed in recent cases, verifies to be true.

A common observation is that women file a case over trivial fights and just for the sake of extortion towards the families. When these fake cases are considered without a proper attention the intention with which the provision was enacted will lose its faith and the presumption of the innocence of the women under this provision will be doubted, which will eventually be adverse to the women who are really suffering from torture. Now, if a dowry harassment case is proved wrong or proved that the law is misused, only Rs 1,000 penalty is slapped. But anti-dowry harassment law amendment provides for a Rs 15,000 fine.

The process flow of filing the complaint against the dowry harassment is that the victim can go to the police station nearby and file the complaint.

The offense is a non-bailable and non-compoundable. To get the bail, the accused has to be presented in the court in front of the judge. And by any means the complaint once filed cannot be withdrawn by the person or her relatives.

Also, it is a cognizable offense. Which means the complaint can be registered and investigated before making any arrests.

The complaints through National Commission for Women (NSW) are tackled as:

Investigations by the police are expedited and monitored by NSW. Family disputes are resolved or compromised through counselling. For serious crimes, the Commission constitutes an Inquiry Committee which makes spot inquiries, considers different witnesses, collects evidence and submits the report with recommendations. These investigations help in bring fast relief and justice to the victims of violence and atrocities. The implementation of the report is monitored by the NSW. Also, the State Commission, the NGOs, and other experts are involved in this exertion. The complaints are examined to figure out the gaps in the habitual functioning of govt and to suggest corrective measures.

If you are falsely charged with a case of domestic violence, the following are the measures you can take when framed or before being framed:

1. Enter into a Prenuptial Agreement (Prenup) before marriage. A prenup is a declaration saying that neither of the parties has demanded or given any dowry.

2. Get the prenup duly signed and executed by the parties. Additionally, two witnesses from each party must sign the Prenup.

3. Make a list of the things parents give their daughter at the time of the wedding. The girl has a de facto (actual) right on Stridhan. It includes possessions inherited by the woman from her family or husband’s family, property received by her under a compromise, adverse possession or in lieu of maintenance, property obtained in the partition, and the gifts given at the time of marriage.

Stronger the lawyer, stronger the case. An effective lawyer will be a master excellence as an expert, which fosters a high level of commitment to their work. They have the strong understanding about the law. For getting a bail at the earliest, or making sure that the case gets sorted out as a settlement between two parties, you need an influential lawyer. At the particular time it does not matter whether you are right or wrong. All that matters is how brilliant is your lawyer.

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Must know legal tips for every startup entrepreneur !

Starting a new business is a thrilling as well as risky experience. You believe in your capability to build the business, you know your product or service has the potential to be highly profitable, and you’re beyond excited to dive in. It’s important to lay the foundation for a successful, sustainable business. That often begins with legal considerations.

Govt has entered the ambitious Start-up India Movement. It aims to fill gaps in the economy for the growth and development of startups and will aim to boost digital entrepreneurship at the basal.

With the Government’s support, a startup can be built in a short span of time which will definitely motivate many young entrepreneurs to turn ideas into action thereby increasing the jobs in India as well. Yet, one cannot ignore the key policy and regulatory challenges that companies and organizations face in India, Moreover, duties and levies undergo frequent revisions during the Annual Central and State

Budget exercise, waiting and maintaining registers, licenses need bribing, paying huge taxes and accepting money from foreign investors, etc makes the process so complex.

It is clear that Indian companies and MNCs would be required to follow agreements with techno legal requirements of Companies Act 2013 and more applicable laws of India like Information technology Act 2000 to companies and their directors. A failure to obey with these techno legal requirements would clearly result in litigations and prosecutions.

Many entrepreneurs aren’t specialist in the fields of business law and more, are starting with a capital of limited to non-existent budget. Hiring lawyers who are friends, relatives or others who offer steep fee discounts makes mistakes in forming their business and can cause enormous problems later. When looking to form a business entity, the most important point is to get assistance from an expert business lawyer as it will lay a strong legal foundation.

There are many occasions when a company absolutely must engage a lawyer. Startups need to understand the available choices and take a risk and value based judgment. Lawyers can provide the best, value-driven solution for specific problems the startup is facing. This will change from one startup to another. But here are some general discussions:

What type of business entity do I need to be? A corporation, limited liability company (LLC) or sole proprietorship (If you have multiple founders), how is ownership divided? How do I make sure our intellectual property is secured?What are my duties relate to taxes? Etc.

Working with a lawyer is complex and often confusing, especially if you’ve no experience. But when you’re starting a business, it’s important. With the right expertise on your side, you can feel comfortable reaching out to ask for legal advice and confident that you’ll get a swift reply possibly. Someone who specializes in startups will understand how your business works and be able to advise you on some of the traps you may face for a new business.

It is often said that it’s better to have a lawyer as an advisor rather than a crisis manager. This is obviously relevant since lawyers can spot issues before it happens, and save your money. However, entrepreneurs today delay hiring lawyers unless it becomes absolutely urgent. By the time founders realize this it is already too late, and they end up paying much more legal cost than they would have otherwise. Not hiring a lawyer at an early stage is mostly to save legal fees. We all can relate to the dilemma that all cash-strapped start-ups face. This is where online legal services enter the picture as heroes.

Experience limitless possibilities of an online legal solution on licit.ooo. Licit is an online legal marketplace, we carefully consider the network of lawyers for our clients. You can find a top notch attorney based on your needs and budget. You can also connect with lawyers 24/7 on our web platform and also on the android application of Licit so you can get instant access to your lawyer and efficient advice at your convenience, be at ease.

Our lawyers can direct you to the corporate structure, and another (cheaper) service provider for setting up the company. And ensure the legality of commercial transactions, advising on their legal rights and duties, plus the duties and responsibilities of corporate officers. They are experts in aspects of tax law, accounting, contract law, securities law, intellectual property rights,  bankruptcy, zoning laws, licensing, and the laws particular to the business of the corporations that they work for.

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