Child Abuse in India

  • Child abuse in India is often a hidden phenomenon especially when it happens in the home or by family members.
  • Focus with regards to abuse has generally been in the more public domain such as child labour, prostitution, marriage, etc.
  • In 80-85 per cent cases of child rapes in our country, the offender is a known person.
  • They can be a neighbour, someone from the local community, a relative or even a family member.
  • A sexual offence by a known person is one of the worst things that can happen to a child.
  • Many a time, when the offender is a family member, the victims don’t report due to fear of social stigma.
  • Sometimes minors do not even understand that they are being wronged.
  • This data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows even the best of police systems and toughest of laws cannot ensure prevention of sexual violence against children.
  • Police can punish the perpetrator after the crime is committed. However, by then the damage is already done.
  • A jail sentence to the accused comes after years of legal battle, and hardly helps the victim in dealing with lifelong trauma.
  • In many such incidents, victims are forced to change their statements in court just because the matter has been ‘amicably settled’ among the elders.
  • Many rapes take place in urban slums, because children are left alone or with some person known to the parents.