Around 109 children were sexually abused every day in India in 2018, according to the recently released report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), a 22 per cent jump in such cases from the previous year.
The data revealed that in 2017, 32,608 cases were reported, whereas 39,827 cases were reported in 2018 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
In 2018, 21,605 child rapes included 21,401 rapes of girls and 204 of boys, the data showed.
The state of Maharashtra topped the list in terms of numbers of child rapes (2,832) followed by Uttar Pradesh at 2,023 and Tamil Nadu at 1,457.
Crimes against children in the past decade have spiked up six times. In the year 2008, 22,500 cases of crimes against children were recorded, whereas the number rose to 1,41,764 cases in 2018.
Around 1,29,032 cases of crime against children were recorded in 2017.
Priti Mahara, Director of Policy Research and Advocacy at CRY – Child Rights and You (CRY) taking stock at the increasing number of child crimes said that it is concerning but also suggest that more cases are now being reported. She said that it reveals that people have faith in the system.
Crimes such as kidnapping and abduction comprised of 44.2 per cent. A total of 67,134 children (19,784 male,47,191 female and 159 transgender) were reported missing in 2018.
Around 71,176 children (22,239 male, 48,787 female and 150 transgender) were traced in 2018.
As many as 781 cases of child pornography or storing child pornography material was also recorded in 2018, which is more than double that of 2017.
States such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh accounted for 51 per cent of all types of crimes against children in the country.
Cases of sexual harassment in shelter homes against women and children reportedly rose by 30 per cent from 2017.
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