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Criminalization of Child Abuse and Violence against Children in South Asia: Law and Legal Advances in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

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Crime, Criminal Justice, and the Evolving Science of Criminology in South Asia

Abstract

This chapter is an overview of the law and legal developments related to the criminalization of child abuse and violence against children in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Some of these laws include India’s Prevention of Children from Sexual Offenses Act of 2012 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2014; Pakistan’s Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill of 2013 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill of 2014 (both bills were not passed by the Senate); and Bangladesh’s Prevention of Oppression Against Women and Children Act of 2000 (amended in 2003), the Acid Control Act of 2002, the Domestic Violence (Protection and Prevention) Act of 2010, and the Children Act of 2013. The study finds that among the three countries of South Asia, considerable advancements in the criminalization of child abuse and violence against children have been made in India and Bangladesh. As of 2016, Pakistan has not passed any national legislation criminalizing child sexual abuse and violence against children. These countries, however, have a long way to go to meet their commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for ending child abuse and violence against children from all settings and sectors of life. In all these three countries of South Asia, corporal punishment is still legal in homes and families and this legality is defined by the old India Penal Code of 1860 and sanctified by the ideas of children as “properties” ingrained in local creeds, customs, and cultures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Hampton University, Hampton, USA

    Shahid M. Shahidullah

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  1. Shahid M. Shahidullah
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Correspondence to Shahid M. Shahidullah .

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  1. Sociology and Criminal Justice, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA

    Shahid M. Shahidullah

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Shahidullah, S.M. (2017). Criminalization of Child Abuse and Violence against Children in South Asia: Law and Legal Advances in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In: Shahidullah, S.M. (eds) Crime, Criminal Justice, and the Evolving Science of Criminology in South Asia. Palgrave Advances in Criminology and Criminal Justice in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50750-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50750-1_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-50749-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-50750-1

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