A Child Cannot Give Consent: Supreme Court’s Child-Centric Approach Towards Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation

Child Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is one of the most severe crimes growing rapidly in today’s time, raising questions about the victim’s consent and legal protection. In the recent judgment of Prajwala v Union of India, the Supreme Court clarified that the consent of a child victim of trafficking is irrelevant, regardless of whether or not means have been used and observed that a person’s awareness of being employed in the sex industry or prostitution does not exclude them from being a victim of trafficking, as they can be deceived about work conditions. The Court held that cases involving the trafficking of children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation can be charged under the POCSO Act, with the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. This paper analyses the changes in India’s child protection framework, the importance of the Court’s ruling, challenges in implementation, and examines that child protection requires not only a child-centric approach but also effective enforcement of laws and a rights-based understanding of exploitation.