Over 1,000 children molested in their own homes last year, says Kerala child rights panel report

Thiruvananthapuram: Of the total number of child abuse cases reported in Kerala in 2022, most of the offences took place at the residence of the survivors itself, according to a report compiled by the state child rights panel.

The startling figures, which appeared in the recent report, indicated that their homes were not safer for the survivors.

According to the annual report of Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for 2022-23, of the total 4,582 cases reported in the southern state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act during 2022, the survivors’ homes were the places of the crime in 1,004 incidents.

In 722 cases, the houses of the accused were the places where the crime occurred, while it was various public places in 648 cases.

When the places of occurrence of the offence were analysed in 4,582 POCSO cases reported, it was found that the children were subjected to abuse in their own home in 1004 cases, it said.

Children were also subjected to molestation in schools (133 cases), in vehicles (102 cases), hotels/lodges (99 cases), religious institutions (60 cases), hospitals (29 cases), and so on.

There were a total of 4642 survivors in the 4582 POCSO cases reported in the state last year.

”This indicates that there is more than one survivor in many cases. Under this circumstance, children should be given awareness about POCSO laws and child-friendly procedures,” the report added.

Out of the total cases reported, most were from Thiruvananthapuram (583), while a smaller number were reported from Pathanamthitta (189).

Of the total 4,642 survivors, 4008 were girls and 578 were boys, the report said, adding that the figures indicate that girls were more subjected to sexual assault.

Among the accused, 16 per cent were lovers, 12 per cent neighbours, 9 per cent were family members, 8 per cent were relatives, and 3 per cent were teachers. The majority of survivors were found to belong to the age group of 15-18 years (2563 children).

There were 55 survivors who belonged to the age group of 0–4 years. The child panel report also found that 93 per cent of the accused in the POCSO cases were men, while two per cent were women.