In 2007, Ministry of Women and Child Development of India reported an alarming information regarding child sexual abuse in the country, based on a study conducted in its 13 out of 28 states. A 53.22% of children in India undergo one or more forms of sexual abuse. That means, in India, every second child is a child sexual abuse victim. The percentage in India is more than double that in Asia and more than four times that of the global data. This study reveals the latest available, comprehensive and offi cial facts and fi gures on child sexual abuse victims in India (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2007, p. vi).
Over last ten years the number of child sexual abuse cases has increased almost 9-fold in India. According to recent crime reports in India, there were 5,484 child sexual abuse cases in 2010, 13,766 cases in 2014, 36,022 in 2016, 32,608 in 2017, and 47,335 in 2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, 2010, table 6, 2; 2014, table 6, 2; 2016, table 4A.2 (ii); 2017, table 4A.2 (ii); 2019, table 4A.2 (ii)). In 2014, India had the world’s largest number of child sexual abuse cases: Every 155 minutes a child under 16 is raped and every 13 hours a child under 10 (Singh et al., 2014, p. 431). It has been reported that in India a child was being sexually abused every 15 minutes in 2016. One in every third rape victim in India is a child (Human Rights Watch, 2013, p. 16). The gender-based child sexual abuse rate reported in India shows that 52.94% of victims are boys and 47.06% are girls (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2007, p. 75).
This fact is signifi cant since in India more boys than girls are child sexual abuse victims, contrary to the global data. A meta-analysis of 67 studies from 22 countries affi rms the higher prevalence of female victims in child sexual abuse cases and the ratio of male to female victims is 1:3 (Pereda et al., 2009, p. 334).
In reality the above-mentioned data do not reveal the true magnitude of the problem. Some victims disclose it later in their adulthood and others never speak out about it (Townsend, 2016, p. 3). Reasons like profound fear of revealing child sexual abuse to anyone and the absence of child-friendly or victim- friendly practices in the society reduce the number of disclosures (Subramaniyan et al., 2017, p. 203; United Nations General Assembly, 2006, pp. 8–9). Recently there has been an increase in the number of disclosures, in which the media have actually had a role (Townsend, 2016, p. 5). But there are cases of false allegations as well. A Canadian-based study reported a 4% (Trocme & Bala, 2005, p. 1333) and an Australian study identifi ed a 2.5% rate of false child sexual abuse allegations (Oates et al., 2000, p. 149). When they are compared with the rate of disclosure, the data for false allegations seem negligible. In short, the above data do not give a perfect picture of the facts. But the available statistics themselves reveal the vast magnitude of this social evil, and in India the situation is most alarming.
– Fr.Jo Paul Kiriyanthan