Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2013, mandates that the child be provided with emergency medical services (EMS) within 24 hours of filing the First Information Report (FIR).
EMS are provided by state registered medical practitioners (RMPs) in government hospitals.
Only in the absence of such an agency should the child be referred to other sectors where Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) work in collaboration with government hospitals.
The detailed inquiry can be completed in one sitting rather than the child being interviewed multiple times.
Once the medical examination is done and there is medical evidence, the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at Nimhans offers combined therapeutic and forensic interviewing to assist both the healing of the child and the necessary justice processes.
This interviewing is done based on existing international protocols that are child-sensitive and can stand the scrutiny of court procedures.
In children with symptoms, the department works through trauma by encouraging expression of feelings regarding the abuse, validating experiences, and teaching personal safety. In very young children, this is done through art and play work.
They offer social interventions in order to help the family cope with the consequences of abuse, also facilitating liaison with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Centre for Child and Law (CCL) and legal aid services as necessary.
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