From Carceral Reflexes to Survivor-Centered Restorative Justice under POCSO

India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was drafted to be survivor-friendly, yet courtrooms still mirror colonial carcerality. Feminist legal clinics have experimented with restorative companion circles that travel with the survivor from FIR to final judgment.

Designing Survivor Companions

A minimum package should include:

• Trained companions from the survivor’s linguistic community;
• Honoraria budgeted within District Child Protection Units; and
• Digital diaries that log every procedural interaction for evidentiary rebuttal.

Evidence Reforms

1. Replace the “proof beyond reasonable doubt” script with trauma-informed credibility matrices;
2. Allow expert testimony from child psychologists at committal stage; and
3. Publish anonymized oral history databases to inform sentencing ranges.

"Restorative justice is not about leniency; it is about material safety." — POCSO feminist collective, 2024 report

Community Accountability Circles

Circles must always be survivor-led, with clear exit clauses that route the matter back to adversarial courts if retraumatization risks emerge.

Avoiding Token Restorative Pilots

Courts should adopt sunset reviews: every restorative order must publish compliance data six months later. Non-compliance triggers automatic reopening of sentencing.

Legislative Wishlist

• Amend Section 33(8) POCSO to recognise community accountability statements as valid submissions;
• Budget for child-friendly technology that records testimony once, replays later; and
• Fund feminist monitoring cells to evaluate each restorative order.

A feminist POCSO jurisprudence is possible if we pair trauma-informed procedure with community-led accountability and transparent data reporting.