Download This PaperEastern Region Consultation on Adolescent Sexuality and the Law
33 Pages Posted: 5 May 2020
Date Written: April 9, 2020
Abstract
On 4th and 5th February 2020, a two-day Eastern Region Consultation on ‘Adolescent Sexuality and the Law’ was organized by Partners for Law in Development (PLD), Swayam and New Alipore Praajak Development Society (Praajak) in Kolkata. This meeting is a continuation of national level consultations held by PLD with CEHAT and RCI-VAW (TISS) in Mumbai (August 2017), PLD with AJWS in New Delhi (December 2018) and PLD with TULIR in Chennai (September 2019), to document grassroots experiences of working with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) to help girls prevent/exit forced marriages; as well as PLD’s socio-legal studies on elopements by under-age girls; the use of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the PCMA in cases of consensual relations. Resource persons from sectors such as sexual and reproductive health, law, child abuse, and sexuality education participated in the consultation and shared their experiences and challenges faced while working with adolescents. The consultation was a means to consolidate experiences from different interventions into adolescents’ lives and see how to engage with stakeholders beyond the social sector, including the media and the State.
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