False Reports or Complaints for Child Sexual Abuse

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Trigger Warning: The following content contains information on sexual and physical violence which some readers may find disturbing.

It is illegal to falsely complain about child sexual abuse or provide false information against another person alleging that they have sexually abused a child if they haven’t done so. The punishment for doing this is jail time of one year and/or a fine(( Section 22(3), The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.)).

If the false complaint or false information is made with the intention to humiliate, extort, threaten, blackmail, or defame someone, the complainant can be punished with either a jail time of 6 months and/or a fine(( Section 22(1), The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.)).

However, if a child makes a false complaint or provides false information, the child cannot be punished(( Section 22(2), The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.)).

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