E-box to report complaints against child abuse: POCSO button

“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” 
― Dave Pelzer, A Child Called “It”
53% of children in India have faced the problem of sexual abuse in any form. Mostly, it is the children’s relative or a close family friend. It is terrific to see offences like child sexual abuse growing up in the light of several other offences. The delicate and playful nature of the child is not able to understand the act done with it. It leaves a deep scar on their sophisticated soul. But as a child, they have mental capacity to understand when they feel bad, confused and helpless due to some uncomfortable sexual touches. And to give a way of solution to their grievances, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smt. Meneka Gandhi has launched an ‘e-box’ named “POCSO” e-box. This is an online complaint box to address and solve the problem of sexual abuse against children.
Childline was started in 1998 which receives over 14 lakh complaints every month. The POCSO button is a further approach. The idea of creating an online complaint box came up when around 80 children reported complaints through a complaint box set up in a school by the police. Going through the complaints, it was found that usually it was a relative or a close family friend who commits the sexual offence against a child. And such complaints mostly go unnoticed. Also looking at the awareness of children towards internet and computer, it is a great initiative to carry forward towards reduction of the crime. 70% of the rural children have no means to report their complaints. It would be helpful to the rural children also.
The POCSO button is designed in an interesting manner which could be easily understood by a child. Any victim or adult may file a complaint if they see any kind of sexual abuse against a child. Any person below the age of 18 is recognized as a child in the Protection of Children from sexual offences (POCSO) act, 2012. One may visit the website of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights http://ncpcr.gov.in/  where the user may push the POCSO button. The confidentiality of the complaints would be maintained and the system is friendly.
The POCSO Act, 2016 protects children from sexual offence, sexual harassment and pornography. The POCSO button is an initiative inspired from this act. It would play a great role in easing the system of reposting complaints. Internet is accessible everywhere which makes a wide scope for addressing the problem. Accordingly, awareness must be created amongst the children at schools and home