Goa Children's Act 2003

For TGF's reservations about this Act, please click here

The Goa Children’s Act, 2003
[8 July, 2003]

source: goagovt.nic.in/documents/goachildact2003.pdf

An Act to protect, promote and preserve the best interests of Children in Goa and to create a society that is proud to be child friendly.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa in the Fifty-fourth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:-

1. Short title, extent and commencement.-

(1) This Act may be called the Goa Children’s Act, 2003.

(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Goa.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) “authorised officers” means officers that are appointed as such under the provisions of this Act;

(b) “A care giver” is a person who is responsible for looking after the well being of the child. This person may be a staff member of any residential facility for children, an employee of an educational institution, a nursery, crèche, a clinic, a hospital, a sports club, a recreational facility or an employee of any facility which provides services to children;

(c) “A place of care” of children are all the places mentioned in clause (b) and any other place which is a place for the care and custody of children;

(d) “Child” means any person who has not completed eighteen years of age unless any other law in force specifies otherwise or unless otherwise indicated in specific provisions in this Act;

(e) “Child in case of child labour”, shall be a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age;

(f) “Children’s Home” means an institution, whether called an orphanage, home or by any other name and where one or more children reside, either fully or partly;

(g) “Chief Secretary” means the Chief Secretary to the Government of Goa;

(h) “Children’s Court” means the Court constituted under section 27;

(i) “Competent authority” means the Secretary to the Government in charge of the Department of Women and Child Development;

(j) “Child labour” means all forms of labour involving children below the age of fourteen;

(k) “Certificate” means the certificate of registration granted under section 6;

(l) ”Child in need” means all children including those whose rights are being violated or who need special attention and/or protection and shall include, for the purposes of this Act:-

(i) Child in need of care and protection and juvenile in conflict with law as defined in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 ( 56 of 2000 ).

(ii) Child labour;

(iii) Street Children;

(iv) A child who has been dedicated;

(v) A foetus;

(vi) An adopted child;

(vii) A child in a Home, registered or otherwise;

(viii) A child in foster-care;

(ix) Child in situation of abuse;

(x) A differently abled child;

(xi) Children of prisoners,

(xii) Children of commercial sex workers;

(xiii) A child who is vulnerable.

(xiv) A child whose parents are separated or divorced;

(xv) A child who has an illness or disease or ailment which has a social stigma attached to it eg. HIV, Leprosy.

(m) “Child abuse” refers to the maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of the child which includes any of the following:-

(i) psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment;

(ii) any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being;

(iii) unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival such as food and shelter; or failure to immediately give medical treatment to an injured child resulting in serious impairment of his growth and development or in his permanent incapacity or death;

(n) “Dedication” means the performance of any act or ceremony by whatever name called, by which a girl child is dedicated to the service of any deity, idol, object of worship, temple, other religious institutions or places of worship;

(o) “Director” means the Director of the Directorate of Women and Child Development;

(p) “Fund” means the State Children’s Fund constituted under section 14;

(q) “guardian” in relation to a child means his natural guardian or any other person who is legally authorised for the purpose of having the actual charge or control over the child;

(r) “High risk” areas means those areas in which children are vulnerable to exploitation as notified by the Government in the Official Gazette;

(s) “Offence” means an act or omission made punishable under any law for the time being in force;

(t) “prescribed medical authority” means that authority whose certificate on the age of a child shall be conclusive evidence as to the age of the child to whom it relates;

(u) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules under this Act;

(v) “registered children’s home” means a children’s home which has been registered under this Act;

(w) “Secretary” means the Secretary to the Government in charge of the Department of Women and Child Development;

(x) “Sexual Offence” covers all forms of sexual abuse which constitute offences under this Act;

(y) ‘Sexual offences’ for the purposes of awarding appropriate punitive action means and includes,-

(i) “Grave Sexual Assault” which covers different types of intercourse: vaginal, oral, anal, use of objects, forcing minors to have sex with each other, deliberately causing injury to the sexual organs, making children pose for pornographic photos or films;

(ii) Sexual Assault which covers sexual touching with the use of any body part or object, voyeurism, exhibitionism, showing pornographic pictures or films to minors, making children watch others engaged in sexual activity, issuing of threats to sexually abuse a minor, verbally abusing a minor using vulgar and obscene language;

(iii) Incest which is the commission of a sexual offence by an adult on a child who is a relative or is related by ties of adoption.

(z) “child trafficking” means the procurement, recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, legally or illegally, within or across borders, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of giving or receiving payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for monetary gain or otherwise.

(za) ‘Differently Abled Children’ includes children with disabilities, learning difficulties and associated disorders like Autism.

Rights of the Child. >>> 2

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