Sexually Touching a Child

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

A person commits sexual assault on a child if they(( Section 7, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.)):

Touch a child with a sexual intent. This includes touching the child’s vagina, penis, anus, breast etc.
Force a child to touch their own or anyone else’s vagina, penis, anus, breast, etc.

The punishment for this is jail time from three to five years to a life in prison along with a fine.(( Section 8, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.))

If the offender is in a position of trust or authority, then this is a higher degree of crime known as Aggravated Sexual Assault(( Section 9, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.)) which has a higher degree of punishment. Read more in our explainer “What is an aggravated crime of sexual abuse by an authority figure?”.

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