Bengal among states with highest number of child abuse cases

Biswabrata Goswami | SNS | Midnapore | May 25, 2018: With the incidents of sexual abuse on children rising alarmingly across the country, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) findings reveal that in most of the cases children were abused at home. In 94.8 percent of the cases, according to NCRB data, children were subjected to rape by someone known to them.

In 10 percent of rape cases, culprits were family members or relatives. Going by the nature of crimes and categories as registered with the police, 14,913 cases were registered under Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2015.

Among them, 8800 cases of rape on children were registered across the country. The report also stated that 25 percent of them were committed by employees and co-workers, while 35.8 percent of these crimes were committed by neighbours.

As per NCRB-2016 report, abusers were grandfathers, fathers, brothers and close family members. In India, it stands at 4.4 percent, while in West Bengal, it has been recorded at 2.52 percent.

Crime against children in India has increased by a sharp 11 percent between 2015 and 2016. And West Bengal is one of the states recording highest incidents of child abuse.

The maximum number of missing children was recorded as 16,881 in 2015- 16. To make children aware about the crime, the Child Rights and You (CRY), IIT Kharagpur Volunteer Chapter, recently organised its 29th workshop cum awareness camp under the banner of Baalrakshak project at Kharagpur Mission Living School, where around 100 children and 20 parents participated.

While speaking about the crime, Rajashri Debnath, a PhD student of IIT-Kharagpur and executive team head said, several students have confessed the crime for the first time in the workshop and as per the data recorded, abusers were known to the victims in 100 percent of the cases.

“Among the abusers, 68 percent were family friends (elders), 16 percent were own family members and another 16 percent were friends, school and tuition teachers,” said Mr Debnath. In the workshop, children were given a lesson on self-defence as well.