Sexual offences on rise in Kerala

Alappuzha: Sexual offences against children are on the rise in the state. This is evident from the police crime statistics which says at least 2,584 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) Act were registered till October this year an average of 200 cases every month. The number last year was 2,697.

Thiruvananthapuram topped the list with 335 cases while Malappuram came second with 312.

The highest number of cases,319, was registered in May, and the lowest, 207, in April. 

“Only a few parents or victims approach Childl-ine or Child Welfare Com-mittee seeking a solution,” says Mr K.K.Jose-ph, former member, Child Welfare Committee here.

Concerned over the low conviction rate in cases, the Kerala State Commi-ssion for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) last year had taken a slew of measures for strengthening child welfare committees and other legal bodies under the JJ Act for speedy disposal of the pending PoCSO cases. But it has not created much impact.

According to the data available, over 5,600 PoCSO cases are pending trial in the state.  Data provided by the KeSCPCR on the basis of figures from special courts from November 2012 to December 2015 revealed that only seven per cent of the cases were disposed of. In 2016 alone, at least 4,025 people were arrested in 2,122 cases. In 2015, as many as 2,714 people were arrested in 2,391 cases.  The conviction rate stands at a mere 20 per cent. The accused were convicted in only 53 of the 261 cases that reached logical conclusion. An unofficial data says that verdict was issued only in about 530 PoCSO cases tried between 2013 and 2016 in the state. Only 70 cases went in favour of the abused children. Over 85 percent of the cases during 2013-16 were acquitted with hardly about 15 percent convicted.