Frank A Clark, the American lawyer and politician, once said, “A baby is born with a need to be loved—and never outgrows it.” The truth is the basic instinct of human behaviour is love when it sees a new born. However, Goa in the recent times is witnessing an increase in hate, physical assault to the point of death of the girl child.
On Tuesday morning, Goa woke up to a ghastly incident, in which a 23-year-old labourer Ramsevak Thakur smashed the head of the five-year-old daughter of a fellow laterite mine labourer Anil Lamani, with a stone, at Deulwada-Morlem, Sattari. The accused confessed to the crime and has been arrested. Valpoi Police Inspector Rahul Naik, while describing the accused as a ‘criminal psycho’, said that fuelled by alcohol and lacking any clear motive, the accused committed the heinous act impulsively.
Earlier this month, on February 1, a stepfather and his brother were arrested for raping, molesting a minor girl in a village in Salcete. The girl’s mother works abroad and had left the 16-year-old under the care of her husband and his brother. The duo had allegedly been sexually abusing the victim since she was 12 years old.
On February 4, the Mapusa Police arrested Prakash Jadav, aged 39 years and resident of Khorlim, for allegedly kidnapping and sexually abusing a four-year-old girl. And on February 5, the Maina-Curtorim police booked a man for raping his five-year-old stepdaughter at Hubbali railway station when the family had gone to meet their son who is studying there.
In July last year, an appalling incident had shaken a village in Salcete, as a father was accused of raping his own special-needs daughter. The distressing revelation came to light when the victim’s mother, who had been abroad for work, returned to Goa. The young woman disclosed the horrifying details to her mother, who then wasted no time in lodging a complaint with the Maina-Curtorim police.
As per the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2022, sexual assault cases on minor girls constituted 76% of the total number of rape cases in Goa. Out of the total number of 75 rape cases, 57 victims of rape were minors – below the age of 18 years, of which, one was below six years, 12 were below the age of 12 and 26 victims were in the 12-16 age group.
There is no single reason that one can pinpoint and demand course correction. There are many facets to this problem and every aspect of it will have to be dealt with separately. What’s most important is the role of the government and in particular the Police Department. Goa Police has been claiming a high rate of crime detection and has been proud of its act, however, the conviction rate is not as convincing as the crime detection rate. Crime against children continues unabated and with every passing day parents have new concerns troubling them about the safety and security of their children. In the last one year parents have had to deal with fears of kidnapping from outside school campuses to physical and sexual assault of children in schools. The last resort to put an end to any criminal activity is to instill fear of the repercussions of the action. However, lengthy investigations and then equally lengthy judicial process leading to acquittal due to either lack of evidence or missing witnesses, brings more pain to a dejected soul who has already faced so much of trauma.
Then there is the question of cultural upbringing, and very often one will hear about the accusations of faulty upbringing of the victims, especially when it comes to minors. But what kind of cultural ethos are we expecting to portray when the government of the day releases convicts of rape and murder, as in the case of Bilkis Bano, for the ‘good behaviour’ during their jail term.
Last but not the least, very often victims have been blamed for being immodest and getting westernised. But how can one reconcile to the fact that at least one minor was raped every week in Goa in 2022. The number of cases of girls facing sexual misbehaviour is not known, as these are not even reported formally. But the stark truth is that one young child, who might have not even attained puberty, was raped every month in 2022.
With criminal activity having reached the doorsteps of Goa’s households, the government will have to take responsibility to put an end to these heinous crime, and should no longer blame it only on ‘migrants’. The civil society and religious groups can no longer remain aloof thinking it doesn’t concern their respective groups. Only sincere collective efforts by every sane thinking individual, group, the government and its agencies will reap the fruits of giving a beautiful future to girls and women. Say no to abuse!
