Definitions — Section 2

2.1 Child — Section 2(d)

"Child" means any person below the age of 18 years.

• This is the most important definition — the Act applies to ALL persons below 18, regardless of gender.
• Age determination: If age of the victim is in doubt, the competent authority shall determine age based on: (a) date of birth certificate from school/hospital; (b) birth certificate from municipal authority or panchayat; (c) if neither available, age may be determined by ossification test (bone density test) or medical examination.

2.2 Other Key Definitions

Term	Section	Definition
Child pornography	2(da)	Any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child — includes photograph, video, film, digital image, digital content
Sexual intent	—	Underlying concept throughout — physical contact with sexual intent vs. accidental touch
Penetrative sexual assault	3	Detailed in Section 3
Aggravated penetrative sexual assault	5	Detailed in Section 5

2.3 Gender Neutrality

The Act explicitly states that both the abuser and the abused can be of any gender. This was a major departure from IPC provisions where:

• Rape (S.375) only covered male perpetrators and female victims
• S.377 covered male-male sodomy but not female perpetrators

POCSO closes these gaps for children.

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