India will join 8 countries having sex offenders database

India will join 8 countries having sex offenders database

India will join a club of eight countries with a sexual offender database to monitor and track those convicted of such crimes, amidst growing criticism against it in the US, where it is pursued aggressively.

The Cabinet on Saturday approved promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 to award death sentence to child rapists and said that the National Crime Records Bureau will maintain a national database and profile of sexual offenders.

This data will be regularly shared with states and Union Territories for tracking, monitoring and investigation, including verification of antecedents by police.

Many organisations such as the Human Right Watch and ACLU have spoken out against the sex offenders registry, claiming that it negates the concept of rehabilitation and perpetuates social stigma.

“Government statistics (in the US) indicate that most sexual abuse of children is committed by family members or trusted authority figures, and by someone who has not previously been convicted of a sex offence.

Also Read : Narendra Modi’s cabinet approves ordinance for death penalty to child rapists

“In India, too, children are often sexually abused by people known to them and regarded as authority figures. The government must ensure implementation of existing measures…including enforcement of the POCSO Act,” Jayshree Bajoria, author of Human Rights Watch report documenting barriers to justice for sexual assault survivors in India, told PTI.

While the registry in the US is public, in other countries like Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa,Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom, where such data of convicted sex offenders is maintained, it is purely for the consumption of the law enforcement authorities.

It is not clear if the Indian database will be made public or not.