As India celebrates Children’s Day, crime records show kids still face a slew of daily threats ranging from trafficking, sexual violence, forced labour and early marriage.

Every day as many as 290 children become victims of crime, data shows. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, offences against kids have increased fourfold in just two years.

‘Children are among the most vulnerable groups in the country. Be it victims of sexual assault, kidnapping or murder, children below 12 years have a higher abuse rate as they are more vulnerable,’ said a police official.

A total of 89,423 crimes against children were reported in 2014. The number went up to 94,172 in 2015 and 1,05,785 the next year.

Between 2014 and 2016, the number of crimes recorded under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) went up from 8,904 to 35,980 – a fourfold jump.

Also, there has been a steep rise in sexual offences against children, the data says.

Delhi Police crime record reveals that every week more than two children report sexual assault.

From October 31, as many as 73 cases under POCSO Act have been registered in various police stations in the Capital.

As per the recent survey conducted by humanitarian aid organisation, World Vision India revealed this May that one in every two children is a victim of sexual abuse. The survey was conducted across 26 states of the country.

This is true and sad. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has been doing a ‘satyagrah’ for the last eight days. We want the Centre and the state governments to draft a law ensuring that within six months the perpetrator should be given death penalty.

‘Recently a one-and-a-half-year-old and a seven-year-old girl were raped in the Capital,’ said Swati Maliwal, chairperson of DCW.

Senior police officials said children are the vulnerable target of abusers as the victims usually fail to identify the accused and they easily escape.

Crime analysis showed that in most of the cases, the abusers had managed to gain the trust of the kids before committing the crime.

Also, in most of the child abuse cases, it has been revealed that the accused were known to the victim.

Speaking to Mail Today, Nitisha, a child rights activist said mostly such incidents remain unreported. ‘If all the cases were reported, then crime record would shoot up.’

Sources in National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said about 53% of children surveyed, confessed to having faced sexual abuse in some form or the other in their lifetime.

 

Source: (www.dailymail.co.uk by Chayyanika Nigam)