India has almost 19 percent of the world’s children and more than one third of India’s one billion-strong population is under 18 years of age. With 50 percent of these children in need of care and protection, it clearly identifies there is a crisis. In a Times of India news story on October 26, Ashis Ray reports that 50 per cent of all children in India have been sexually abused.
Child Abuse in India
There are no shortages of studies that indicate India is dealing with a major crisis that extends beyond people’s homes. A report by Plan International, a children’s organization that is over 70 years old, states that India is ranked third among 13 countries of estimated economic cost of corporal punishment. Plan International calculates that there is a minimum of $1.4 billion lost every year in social benefits because of physical abuse in schools. The United States and Brazil ranked higher.
Plan International’s findings claim that corporal punishment in India is widespread in Indian schools even though this practice is illegal. More than 65 percent of India’s children are beaten; and most of these victims attend state schools.
The study also reveals that caste and gender discrimination was the major cause of violence against children in the school system. Many children quit school because of humiliation, which includes getting hit with sticks, being tied to a chair and being forced to stand in various positions for long periods of time. More boys than girls are subjected to corporal punishment.
Plan International blames India’s social acceptance of violence as a form of discipline and a lack of awareness about the rights of children in India for this crisis. In the schools that were surveyed, there were at least five physical beatings of students every day. Surprisingly, many of the interviewed students believed corporal punishment was sometimes necessary.
Child Sex Abuse in India
In a 2007 report titled The Study on Child Abuse: India 2007 it states that the topic of child sexual abuse remains a taboo in India. Authors Dr. Loveleen Kacker, Srinivas Varadan and Pravesh Kumar write, “There is a conspiracy of silence around the subject and a very large percentage of people feel this is a largely western problem and that child sexual abuse does not happen in India.”
The report indicates that there is a traditional conservative family and community structure that does not talk about this topic. This silence encourages the abuser so that he is safe to sexually abuse. With no information being available about child sexual abuse, many children are growing up not knowing their rights have been violated.
This 2007 report cites a study on Women's Experiences of Incest and Childhood Sexual Abuse conducted by RAHI. (RAHI is located in Dehli and they conduct workshops on incest and sexual abuse. They help victims and they provide training for counselors, individuals, and organizations who work with abused people.) Some of the respondents stated that until the questionnaire was administered to them they had no idea that they had been abused. They buried the abuse as a painful and shameful memory never to be told to anyone.
RAHI conducted a case study entitled Voices from the Silent Zone. This study indicated that out of 76 percent of women who admitted they were sexually abused as children, 40 percent of those were survivors of incest. Incest, according to RAHI, is by far the most common but least discussed form of sexual abuse that young girls suffer in India today.
Sources:
Times of India, Oct. 26, 2010:More than 50% Indian Kids Face Sex Abuse: Ashis Ray
The Study of Child Abuse: India 2007: Dr. Loveleen Kacker, Srinivas Varadan and Pravesh Kumar
Karen Stephenson - Karen has written for several newspapers and print media in addition to many online publications. She holds a B.A. in English and an ...
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