Society Cannot Flourish If Women And Children Are Not Safe: Union Law Minister Rijiju

NEW DELHI: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated on Thursday that a society or a country cannot celebrate its accomplishments if its women and children are not protected, referring to the crime of child sexual abuse as one of the most serious and alarming difficulties.

Speaking at a national conference on "Child Sexual Abuse Material," hosted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at the Vigyan Bhawan in this city, Rijiju declared that in order to protect women and children, "we will have to go beyond legal provisions" and that society as a whole must band together.

"We expect that concrete outcomes will come out of it," he said, calling the conference "timely and highly pertinent."

"A community or a nation cannot celebrate its triumphs if its women and children are not protected," Rijiju stressed in his speech.

He emphasised the problem of child abuse in particular and urged all parties involved and society at large to take additional action.

"The abuse of children, particularly sexual abuse of youngsters, are the most serious and unsettling difficulties, in my opinion, and they are for everyone," he remarked.

"Although all crimes are abhorrent, crimes against children are particularly hard to digest. How is it possible to harm children? We must take our strategies very seriously. That cannot simply be considered a crime. If you treat it like any other crime, then we will treat it like any other crime," Rijiju said.

On Thursday, the minister opened the conference in the presence of senior officials from the relevant ministries, legal professionals, academicians, and intellectuals, as well as NHRC Chair Justice (ret.) Arun Kumar Mishra and members of the rights panel.

The two-day conference's objective is to produce recommendations for legislators, content providers, including social media platforms, and law enforcement agencies, among others, following discussions to promote kid-friendly online environments.

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