According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 73 rape cases were reported in the state in 2022, of which 57 victims were minor girls.
Rapes of minor girls constituted 76 per cent of total rape cases reported in the state in 2022. While the number of rape cases reported in the state were 73, number of victims in those cases were 75.
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Of the 57 minor victims of rape cases registered under Section 376 of IPC in Goa, two are below six years of age, 12 between 6 and 12 years, 26 between 12 and 16 years and 17 between 16 and18 years of age.
In 93.2 per cent of the total rape cases, the accused was known to the victim. And, shockingly, nine of the accused were family members.
This August, the Mardol police station booked a school’s physical education teacher for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old student. In their complaint, the child’s parents stated that they approached the police as the school management failed to act on the incident after being informed of it.
While it is being believed that due to the POCSO Act more cases of sexual assault on minors are getting registered, but the fact remains that crime against children is happening. In fact, we are literally standing on the tip of the iceberg as a large number of cases go unreported fearing loss to family reputation since the offender is known to the victim, who are mostly relatives.
A study conducted by UNICEF revealed that 1 in 8 of the global children (12.7%) had been sexually abused before reaching the age of 18.
A similar study by WHO (2022) estimated that up to 1 billion children aged 2-17 years have experienced physical and sexual abuse, with female victimisation 2-3 times higher than boys.
Being the basic unit of society, family plays a key role in child survival, protection and development. The family is often equated with a sanctuary – a place where individuals receive love, protection and shelter.
While it is naturally and constitutionally expected of parents and other members of the family to provide love, care and protection to their children, this is not always the case. Gone are the days when children could feel parental love and discuss issues bothering them with their parents.
Worse, the sense of shame, guilt and damage to family reputation prevents victims from opening up in front of their parents.
The onus on protecting the children from sexual abuse is prevention – by teaching them how to differentiate between a good touch and a bad touch.
Name body parts and talk about them very early. Feeling comfortable using these words and knowing what they mean can help a child talk clearly if something inappropriate has happened.
Feeling comfortable using these words and knowing what they mean can help a child talk clearly if something inappropriate has happened.
We need to tell our child that no one should touch their private parts and that no one should ask them to touch somebody else’s private parts. Sexual abuse often begins with the perpetrator asking the child to touch them or someone else.
And, most importantly, ensure an open communication channel with the child and remain updated about what is happening in his or her life.
Observe the mood and behavioural patterns to sense that something is drastically wrong. Unless we encourage our children to speak out, we will never know what happened and she/he will continue to suffer in silence, which will have serious consequences.
The situation becomes even more difficult for the child to speak up if the offender is a very close blood relation like the father, uncle or grandfather.
The family tries to hush up the matter fearing repercussions. Consequently, the perpetrator takes undue advantage of this forced silence and continues to ravage his ‘prey’ at every available opportunity.
The assault on the child’s modesty done at a young age by a relative, and seeing the assaulter moving around freely leaves scars on their minds forever. The child gets into severe depression, tends to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
They tend to get nightmares, go into a shell and become introverted for life. The biggest victim here is trust. The world moves on trust. But if that trust is eroded, then living seems meaningless. So, if your child or a student reports of something wrong that has happened to him or her, don’t just keep mum. Act on it immediately.
There are legal provisions like the POCSO Act. Register a police complaint under the Act. Also, the police have to show equal interest in the case and act swiftly by registering the case, probing it and filing a chargesheet at the earliest.
