Juvenile Delinquency: A failing society?

The 16 December gang rape verdict which led go of a juvenile convict with a light sentence of 3 years in a remand home raised a number of questions. While increasing cases of juvenile delinquency has been a concern for the society at large, the Jurists find themselves at a crossroad with regard to available solutions to this crisis. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 was brought in compliance with the United Nation’s Child Rights Convention of 1989. It aims to protect the rights of children up to the age of 18 and provides counseling and correctional opportunities to children displaying anti-social behavior. In India under JJA the maximum sentence is 3 years irrespective of the nature of crime.

 The crime rates committed by juveniles have increased over the last few years. In 2011, 33387 children were arrested and most of them were between the age of 16 and 18. But what is disturbing is the increase in rape cases committed by juveniles. It has increased from 399 in 2001 to 895 in 2010. Even as debate is raging on whether the children in the age group of 16-18 should be treated as juvenile, children continue coming in conflict with law. A recent spurt in the number of such cases post 16 December rape verdict shows that light sentences do not work as a deterrent for potential juvenile delinquents.  Gang rape cases in Assam where the perpetrators were as young as 12 raised concerns about the need to rethink how far Juvenile Justice Act is delivering.

Psychiatrists and child psychologists while trying to understand such criminal tendencies in young children point to a number of possible causes. Rapid pace of urbanization, commodification and consumerism at an all time high, disturbed family backgrounds, safety nets leaving out large number of children etc. play a role in aggravating such tendencies in children. Causes of criminal tendencies in children are partly biological and partly psycho-social. Child Psychologists feel that juvenile delinquency should be treated as a behavioral problem and they should not be treated as criminals.

Rapes committed by juveniles pit one vulnerable group against another. Safeguarding the rights of a juvenile often spells as denying justice to the woman who is a victim. Such inconsistencies came to the forefront in the 16 December verdict. With emotions raising high, organizations all over the country demanded stringent punishment for the convicts. In such a scenario the juvenile getting off with a mere 3 years in a correctional home has not been received well by the people. The Ministry of Women and Child Development also came round to the need for rethinking juvenile justice act as women had to bear the brunt of its shortcomings.

Members of Judiciary have pointed out that sentences cannot be given on an arbitrary basis. The Juvenile Act in place guides the trial of all children till the age of 18. As a result only an amendment to the Act may provide for different parameter of judging a juvenile. Countries like United Kingdom and United States which are also signatories to the Child Rights Convention have dealt with this issue differently. Depending on the nature of violence committed, the cases are transferred to an adult court. Also in case of a child having an adult accomplice, he/she will be tried in an adult court. A graded response to heinous crimes to juveniles could be a possible solution.

While people were divided sharply in two groups as to how to go about this issue, the fact remains that the present system serves neither for rehabilitation nor for deterrence. Child Rights Groups point out that India’s child care system falls short in many ways. Children undergo mental trauma while growing up in rime prone localities. Exposed to the harshness of a street life hardens them. Street children often succumb to substance abuse. They are a vulnerable lot and getting initiated in a life f crime is not very unlikely for most of them.

Taking a look at the scenario on the other side of the fence, it is not very promising either. Remand homes are anything but adequate to address the crisis. They are not enough in number. While Prayas, an NGO working with children in conflict with law is doing good work, their capacity is not enough to tackle the number of children who need to be taken in. Increase in minor criminals has also been attributed to failures on the part of remand homes. Often being poorly staffed, the remand homes seem as an inadequate response to violent crime and are badly maintained. Many cases have been reported on how children were further victimized in such remand homes. Commenting on the condition of these remand homes, social workers have commented that there is no individual care or assessment.

In such a bleak scenario, there needs to be a multi pronged strategy to tackle the crisis of juvenile delinquency. The biological as well as psycho-social roots of the problem must be tackled. Just ensuring harsher punishments for delinquents without taking into account the socio-economic reality of these children will fail to serve any purpose. There is a need to ensure proper support mechanism for adolescents who may be undergoing any kind of crisis. Sex education at schools may help to a great extent by helping adolescents know about puberty and how to handle the changes their bodies go through. All children should be enabled to avail the welfare policies of the government. Proper education will ensure the possibility of a better future and address the psycho-social aspect of the problem.

Increasing crimes against women is also a result of deep rooted patriarchal values of the society. Talking about causes of rape- the most prominent one is men’s belief to sexual entitlement. There is an obsessive emulation of idea of masculinity that emphasize heterosexual performance and dominance over women. Extreme objectification of women in images that surround us also shapes the young men’s views about women. Atrocities against women is on a rise and the perpetrators are not limited to a particular class or age group.

There is a tendency to point fingers at unprecedented westernization and erosion of traditional values as the cause of the overall rise in crime. But our traditions have also kept women on an unequal standing. Sati, dowry, child marriage—none of them are western imports. These beliefs which perpetuate looking at women as lesser human and which enjoy a tacit social sanction must be countered.

Children grow up seeing a level of acceptance of violence against women. To address this issue, along with specific emphasis on correctional opportunities for children, the larger structures of patriarchy should be attacked. Ill treatment of women should not be acceptable anywhere- starting from home, educational institutions and workplace. Young men should internalize that they cannot get away with assaulting women. Gender sensitization as opposed to harsher punishments should be the seen as the roadway ahead for what seems like a failing society.