Short film to educate Dahod youth about Pocsco

Vadodara: With an aim to spread awareness about the consequences of teenage relationships, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) of Dahod, with the assistance of the district panchayat, has prepared a short film. The film, ‘Tarunavastha Ane Pocso Kaydo’ (Youth and Pocso Law), aims to educate people about the legal aspects of child sexual abuse. Dahod, a tribal district, is among the six districts in Gujarat where the number of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act is high. According to the 2021 data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Dahod stands sixth in the state when it comes to the number of Pocso cases registered in the district.
In 2021, 90 cases under the Act were registered in Dahod. Ahmedabad city with 381 cases had the highest number of such cases, followed by Surat city which registered 187 such cases.
The short film aims to creates awareness among youth and children regarding the Pocso Act and the consequences of sexual relationships with minors. The film also highlights the impact of such offences on the future of youths involved in such offences and the reputation of their parents.
Dahod DLSA secretary A R Ghori said that most of the cases were a fallout of love relationships between youths. “Dahod has a high number of such cases as it is a tribal district. Several persons involved in such offences are in jails today. In the wake of this situation, we decided to make the film to create awareness among teenagers,” he said.
The film in Gujarati narrates the story of a minor girl who falls in love with a youth from her school who is an adult. She even breaks her friendship with her best friend after the latter advises her against the relationship. When the girl’s father reprimands her on seeing her with the youth, the duo decide to elope. The father approaches the police who eventually brings the youth who is sentenced 20 years of imprisonment.
The argument that the physical relationships between the duo were consensual and that they were in love with each other does not come to the rescue of the youth. Later in her life too, the girl is not able to settle in a marriage because of her previous relationship and the marriage ends in a divorce. After counselling and help from the girl with whom she had severed her friendship at school, the girl recovers and repents for her mistakes.
Ghori said that the film was also available online and was first screened in the Dahod district court on March 18. The principal district judge, top officials of the district, lawyers, principals of schools and colleges and others were present.