Shivani, a 16-year-old, first found out about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) last year when her 17-year-old boyfriend mentioned in jest how he could be prosecuted for being physically intimate with her.
“I was shocked to learn that my boyfriend could go to jail for a consensual act, it seemed extremely unfair to me,” she says.
For adolescents in India, POCSO looms large over their right to sexual expression in consensual relationships. A child, according to the Act, is anyone who is aged below 18 years, and cannot consent to any sexual activity.
