Can Goa protect its young ones? That is the question that most people across the State would perhaps have been asking over the past few days. The question would have first arisen after Goans learnt of the heinous rapes of two minor girls that came to light last weekend. In one case it was a 16-year-old girl who was being raped repeatedly for two years by three men. The second rape was that of a four-year-old child. While this was unnerving enough, the shock was further compounded by the fact that in both cases the men involved are relatives of the two minor girls. While these two cases have come to light could there be many others that have remained hidden? The answer to this question is possibly yes.
Following the complaints of the rapes, came a report of a study on child sexual abuse in all the four slums in Mormugao taluka that had more shocking information. Here it was revealed that apart from minor/adolescent girls, minor boys living in the slums are also subjected to sexual abuse. The report revealed that adolescent boys were “touched” by other boys and fell prey to the sexual desires of adult males and that mobile phones were used to watch pornography. The report also tells of adolescent girls sharing some horrifying experiences of sexual abuse and how they were “handled” and lewd comments and messages passed at and to them. According to the report, adolescent girls were petrified to step out of their houses and sought police patrolling, proper illumination of streets and bylanes, separate entrances to the gents’ and ladies’ toilets, and adequate space between the houses in the area. None of these cases have ever been reported to the police stations, so there is no record of any of these crimes, and crimes they all are.
Does all this signify that children – girls and boys – in Goa are not safe even in their own homes and neighbourhoods?
The findings of the survey in Mormugao, while being an eye-opener are actually in keeping with surveys undertaken at the all India scenario. According to a survey conducted in 2013, there were more than 48,000 child rape cases recorded in the country from the year 2001 to 2011, which saw an increase of 336 percent in child rape cases as the number rose from 2,113 cases in 2001 to 7,112 cases in 2011. What must be stressed is that these are recorded cases, and given the stigma attached to sexual abuse, there would possibly be thousands of other cases that have been unreported. An earlier survey, commissioned by the Central government, had found that 53 percent of Indian children are subjected to some form of sexual abuse but most cases go unreported.
While activists take up various issues that afflict the State, and women’s bodies fight for women’s rights, there has to be someone or somebody that can take up the protection of children from predators, especially those predators that are lurking within the walls of the house or in the neighbourhood, who can turn out to be the most dangerous. There are laws in place – the Goa Children’s Act 2003, the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 – that are reformatory and make the law child friendly, but that is obviously not enough to keep the marauder away.
Goa may want to be first in many areas – right now it is attempting to go cashless and have all transactions online or through debit and credit cards – why can’t it aspire to be first in keeping its children safe? Safety of the child is a more pressing issue. That’s something that the political parties that will be soon drafting their election manifestoes should ponder about.
