National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Nagarbhavi 560 072, Karnataka, INDIA.
Indian J Med Ethics. 2024 Jan-Mar;IX(1):58-63. doi: 10.20529/IJME.2024.003.
To address the under reporting of sexual offences against children, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, makes reporting of such offences mandatory. The duty to report such offences has been extended to healthcare professionals. The inclusion of healthcare professionals within mandatory reporting, however, strikes at the very foundation of the doctor- patient relationship based on trust and confidentiality and conflicts with the patient confidentiality safeguards of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. It also has unintended public health consequences, such as denial of medical termination of pregnancy due to fear of prosecution under POCSO. An urgent reassessment of these mandatory reporting norms for healthcare professionals, and a solution-based approach that harmonises societal interest in the reporting of sexual crimes with the child's right to health is essential.
为了解决儿童性犯罪报案不足的问题，2012 年《保护儿童免受性犯罪法案》（POCSO）规定此类犯罪必须报案。向医疗保健专业人员报告此类犯罪的责任也已扩大。然而，将医疗保健专业人员纳入强制性报告范围，却破坏了基于信任和保密的医患关系的基础，也与 2017 年《精神保健法》保护患者隐私的规定相冲突。这也会带来意想不到的公共卫生后果，例如因担心根据 POCSO 受到起诉而拒绝医疗终止妊娠。因此，迫切需要重新评估这些医疗保健专业人员的强制性报告规范，并采取基于解决方案的方法，在报告性犯罪方面协调社会利益与儿童健康权利。
