SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

the Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action in 1996 and reaffirmed its commitment in
Yokohama in 2001. It has not signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol). Under the Nepal
Treaty Act 1991, the country adopted a system whereby international treaties ratified by
Nepal automatically become domestic law, and in the case of conflict with domestic law,
these treaties take precedence. 280 In practice, however, the judiciary has not always applied
international standards to domestic cases. 281
Legislation addressing the sexual exploitation and non-commercial sexual abuse of children
includes the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007; Country Code of Nepal (Muluki Ain) 1963
and subsequent amendments; Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2007;
Children’s Act 1992; Open Border Agreement 1950; Some Public (Offences and Penalties)
Act 1970; and Electronic Transaction Ordinance 2005.
Regarding application of legislation to the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of boys, the
Country Code 1963 focuses on girls, but this was somewhat balanced by the 11th
Amendment in 2002. In general the legislation lacks recognition of the sexual exploitation of
boys. 282
6.2.1 Definition of a child
The legal definition of a child is inconsistent in Nepalese law. While article 2(1a) of the
Children’s Act 2048 (1992) 283 defines a child as “...every human being below the age of 16
years”, the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act (2007) 2064 284 Part 1(2d)
defines a child as “...children who have not reached the age of eighteen”. The Country Code
states the age of marriage as 18 years for males and 16 years for females, although the age of
consent for sexual activity is 16 years for both. The age of criminal liability, as per the
Children’s Act 2048 (1992), is 10 years, with reduced punishment allowed for children below
the age of 16 (half the penalty) and additional reduction for children under the age of 14. This
follows from article 2(11) of the Children’s Act 2048 (1992).
6.2.2 Sexual abuse
Overall, legislation in Nepal lacks mechanisms to address child sexual abuse, particularly of
boys. The Children’s Act 1992 is silent on the subject of sexual abuse of children. However,
an amendment to the Children’s Act proposed by the Central Child Welfare Board of the
Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare would provide a definition of sexual
exploitation and abuse that, though incomplete, would include ‘a sexual relationship with
children (natural or unnatural)’, showing a child pornographic materials, and touching or
280
ECPAT and Plan International, 2004, ‘Report on laws and legal procedures concerning the commercial
sexual exploitation of children in Nepal’.
281
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009, ‘South Asia in action: Preventing and responding to child
trafficking: Analyses of anti-trafficking initiatives in the region’.
282
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2009, ‘South Asia in action: Preventing and responding to child
trafficking: Analyses of anti-trafficking initiatives in the region’.
283
, accessed on 16 March 2010.
284
accessed on 16 March 2010.
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