Child abuse cases on rise in Ernakulam

Kochi: The number of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) cases in Ernakulam district has shown a rise in the last couple of years, underlining the need for implementation of programmes like ‘Our Responsibility to Children’ that was jointly conceived by the Social Justice department and the Police in a major way. According to Childline, Kochi, the non-governmental organization made interventions in over 90 CSA cases during the period from April 2016, to February 2017, as against 81 cases during the corresponding period the previous year. The number of CSA cases reported by the agency steadily rose from 53 in 2013-14 to 68 in 2014- 15.

“Complaints of violence against kids, which include all forms of physical and psychological assaults at home, school or even inside school buses have shown a steady rise over these years. Adding to the concerns, the average age of victims involved in CSA cases has come down to 10-11 years from 15-16 years reported a few years back,” said Nirish Antony, Coordinator, Childline Kochi. The statistics available with the Kerala police showed the district with 241 cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, stands third in terms of the most number of CSA cases registered in 2016.

Of the 2,093 cases registered during the year, Thiruvanathapuram tops the list with 246 cases. “The social Justice department along with the police launched a new initiative ‘Our Responsibility to Children’ which aims at preventing children becoming victims and also against their venturing into the world of crime. Volunteers from residents associations will be made part of the initiative to prove information such as drug supply around schools, etc,” said P Vijayan, Inspector General, Kochi Region.