1. States Parties to the present Charter shall undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and shall in particular take measures to prevent: (a) the inducement, coercion or encouragement of a child to engage in any sexual activity; (b) the use of children in prostitution or other sexual practices; (c) the use of children in pornographic activities, performances and materials. Article 29: Sale, Trafficking and Abduction States Parties to the present Charter shall take appropriate measures to prevent: (a) the abduction, the sale of, or traffic of children for any purpose or in any form, by any person including parents or legal guardians of the child; (b) the use of children in all forms of begging. 114. Abuse and neglect takes many forms. The most illustrative forms are listed under the PDVA as physical abuse; economic abuse; sexual abuse; psychological abuse; verbal abuse; and financial abuse. Media reports indicate increasing trends for most of the forms of abuse. The soaring numbers of child-headed households also indicates largely increased incidence of neglect. There are other causes of neglect like orphanhood but it has been noted that some children are abandoned by living parents. 115. The PDVA not only provides for prevention of domestic violence but also provides for punishment for it. However, the key legislation on violence remains the Penal Code. The Penal Code was amended in 2010 and several provisions were revised. The most notable amendment is on sexual violence against persons below the age of 16 years under the offence termed Defilement. 116. Abuse and neglect are closely linked to poverty. Abuse and neglect are a cause and result of poverty. It has been observed that human trafficking has benefitted from this cycle and many children and women have fallen victim to it. The CCPJA has criminalized some undesirable practices including child trafficking which is punishable by life imprisonment. A more comprehensive legislation has been proposed by the Law Commission in order to prevent trafficking in persons in all aspects. The proposed legislation prescribes trafficking in persons and children and aggravated forms of trafficking; it provides for care and protection of victims including provision of shelter, introduction of a witness protection programme and general care and protection; it also provides for specialized forms of investigations and conducting proceedings. 35 | P a g e