India, July 6 -- The Maharashtra government has decided to provide assistance to victims of child sexual abuse by appointing "support persons" to render emotional, psychological and legal assistance to them. The support persons will protect the victims and facilitate medical assistance, treatment and counselling for them to overcome their mental trauma. An order to this effect was issued by the state's women and child development department on Friday.

The government has also decided to implement the model guidelines framed by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to regulate the 'support person' for the child sexual abuse victims. These steps come in the wake of the incident at a top city school where a 16-ye...