Southern States - Kerala   

Sexual crime against children on the rise

By G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram Sept. 28. The recent arrest of a 72-year-old playwright on charges of raping a seven-year-old girl has focussed attention on sexual crimes against children.

Police said that the child was subjected to rape by the playwright at his house where the girl had come for English tuition.

The accused, as in other similar cases, was closely acquainted with the victim's family. The alleged incident that occurred in May was reported to the police only in September.

In yet another case of similar nature, the Museum police are investigating a complaint of sexual abuse filed by two Austrian nationals against a city-based astrologer. The prosecution case is that the astrologer had sexually abused two minor girls while on a visit to the house of his host in Austria.

A police official said that most instances of child abuse are reported from within domestic environs where the offender is usually a person who moves in the close social circle. He said that cases of sexual abuse of children are more common than most people or authorities realise it to be. However, the actual reporting of such child abuse cases to the police is very low owing to the sensitive nature of the crime and the social stigma involved. This seems to be working to the advantage of child sex offenders, he says.

Officials say that there has been a steady decline in the number of cases registered by the police under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which relates to a wide range of un-natural offences, including child abuse, homo-sexuality and exhibitionism. This is mainly because in most complaints of child abuse, the parents are unwilling to press charges beyond a point because a police complaint would mean public scrutiny which they want to avoid for the sake of their child.

Abuse, victimisation, molesting and assault are the most common crimes against children that are reported to the police. Instances of actual rape of minor children are rare.

A State Mental Health Authority (SMHA) source, quoting recent surveys, says that one out three minor girls and one out of 16 young boys are sexually abused before the age of 18.

Sources at the State Women's Commission say that in 80 per cent of the reported child abuse cases, the offender was known to the victim's family.

In many cases, the offender had convinced the victim, through threat or bribe, not to report the matter to anybody. Moreover, the statements given by child victims are often incomplete, thus leaving the door open for offenders to escape conviction.

A senior official says there is an urgent need to sensitise the police as well as the public about child abuse prevention. Teachers and parents should be taught how to recognise telltale signs of sexual abuse in children. Psychologists say that exceptional fear in children of certain people or places, unreasonable resistance to physical examination by parents, scary drawings using lot of black and red-ink and sudden change in conduct could be indications of sexual abuse.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Entertainment | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Govt. charged with sabotaging ordinance
• Antony calls for 'Clean Kerala' campaign
• Sexual crime against children on the rise
• Karunakaran caught between sibling rivalry
• Shobhana George's private secretary held

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu