• Rinchen Tamang

Abstract Child abuse has emerged as a critical socio-legal concern in contemporary India, affecting children across homes, schools, and public spaces. Particularly alarming is the heightened vulnerability of children with disabilities-especially those with mental disabilities-who experience abuse at nearly four times the rate of their non-disabled peers. Such violence is not merely an individual tragedy but a profound violation of societal and constitutional values, undermining the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and protection that the State is duty-bound to uphold. Prior to the enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, Indian legal provisions addressing sexual offences against minors were limited and embedded within the broader framework of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which lacked child-centric definitions and failed to comprehensively capture various forms of sexual abuse. As a result, many abusive acts-including non-penetrative assault, sexual harassment, and exploitation-remained legally ambiguous and underreported. The introduction of the POCSO Act marked a significant legislative shift, offering a specialized, structured, and child-focused framework that clearly defines and criminalizes a wide spectrum of sexual offences against children. This paper examines the socio-legal landscape of child sexual abuse in India, the limitations of pre-POCSO legal mechanisms, and the transformative role of the POCSO Act in strengthening child protection and advancing justice for vulnerable minors.

Child abuse, Socio-legal issue, Children with disabilities, mental disabilities, Vulnerability, Sexual offences, Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"JUSTICE FOR THE YOUNG: UNDERSTANDING THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE POCSO ACT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 12, page no.b74-b82, December-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2512112.pdf

"JUSTICE FOR THE YOUNG: UNDERSTANDING THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE POCSO ACT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 12, page no. ppb74-b82, December-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2512112.pdf