ATC Release: Ascertaining the Age of a Rescued Victim

We share our experience of a case where the age of the victim of commercial sexual exploitation was in question. To determine if the individual was an adult or a child, under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)Act 2015, the Child Welfare Committee responsible for making decisions for the child’s rehabilitation took great efforts to ascertain the age by contacting the appropriate agencies. From such groundwork, we offer a case study on best practices, regarding the verification of age-related documents produced by the claimants.

This case study is our sincere effort to highlight the importance of age verification in cases of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. Read more