The government proposes to bring a new law to protect children against sexual offences of various types. The Minister for Women and Child Development Mrs. Krishna Tirath informed Lok Sabha in a written reply that the draft bill provides for designating Special Courts for trial offences and stringent punishment commensurate with the gravity of each offence. She said that it also has the provision for child friendly procedures for reporting, recording, investigating and trial of such offences. Admitting that there has been a rise in the cases of sexual offences against children, Mrs. Tirath said that the draft Bill is at the stage of inter ministerial consultations and will be introduced after it is approved by the competent authority. According to the data from National Crime Record Bureau, the number of cases of sexual offences against children went up from 2265 in 2001, to nearly 5750 in 2008. A study on child abuse carried out in 13 States by the government also revealed that 53 percent of about 12,500 children interviewed reported that they had faced one or more form of sexual abuse. In 50 percent of the cases the children were sexually abused by persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility.