Consensual Sexual Intercourse among children Vs Current  Legal Provisions under POCSO: A Scientific Review with  Prospective Quantitative Analytical Study

Authors

H. S. Tatiya1 , A. A. Taware2 , H. V. Vaidya3 , V. T. Jadhav2 , A. L. Bandgar1, S. B. Punpale4

Consensual sexual intercourse, POCSO, child autonomy, teenage pregnancy

Background: Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act criminalizes all acts of sexual

intercourse and does not differentiate acts of consensual sexual intercourse from provisions of the said

act. Aim: To find incidence and demography of victims and accused in cases of consensual sexual

intercourse registered as cases of alleged sexual assault under POCSO Material and Method: Current

study was conducted at B J Government Medical College Pune on alleged cases of sexual assault brought for

examination during November 2015 to September 2017, with cases of female child with history of consensual

sexual intercourse being the inclusion criteria. Result: A total of 174 (32.58%) cases of consensual sexual

intercourse was examined with the majority being from the age group of 16-17 years (36.78%). Out of 174

cases, 24 were pregnant. In all only 02 were completely illiterate. Among accused majority were from the

age group of 22-24 years (40.23%). Conclusion: Consensual sexual intercourse among children is known

and different entity and should be treated separately from the purview of POCSO, but should also maintain

the letter and spirit of the law.

H. S. Tatiya1 , A. A. Taware2 , H. V. Vaidya3 , V. T. Jadhav2 , A. L. Bandgar1, S. B. Punpale4

1 Assistant Professor, 2Associate professor, 3Senior Resident, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology,

BJGMC and SGH, Pune,4 Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, SKNMC, Pune