The number of crimes committed against children reported in the State has gone up by about 42 per cent in the last year, as per statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
As many as 1,877 cases of crimes against children were reported in the State in 2013, with 637 of the cases being charges of rape. As many as 610 cases have already been reported in the State as of March 2014. In Kochi, while 43 crimes against children were reported in 2012, the number went up to 71 in 2013.
The crimes against children reported are much higher in Kerala than in States such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The cases reported were only a small percentage of the crimes committed against children, said Aneesh S., district co-ordinator of ChildLine.
“Children either don’t report the cases, or the cases are hushed up even if they do report them. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 has guidelines to deal with each case. But a lot of cases are settled quietly and that is extremely dangerous,” he said.
Unless the abusers are brought to justice, they have the tendency to abuse children repeatedly. Settling the cases also deprived the abused children of necessary counselling and therapy. “Children who are abused may become offenders themselves at a later age if their trauma is not dealt with,” said Mr. Aneesh.
Given the increasing number of crimes against children, child care authorities needed to put in place a process by which young victims of violence could be provided continued care, said P.C. Alexander, senior consultant, Department of Child Health and Adolescent Medicine at a private hospital in the city.
“The police should not be the only agency that deals with children who have been abused. There should be a team of specialised child psychiatrists and other child care professionals who can ensure continued support to the child. The child has to be rehabilitated and given the confidence to reintegrate with society,” said Dr. Alexander.
He said the district currently did not even have a foster home with enough facilities to support children in need of help.
When a case of child abuse is reported, hardly any support is offered to the child and the family to get their lives back on track.
“The existing facilities are simply insufficient to deal with the sheer volume of cases of abuse being reported,” he said.
