Unreported cases: Accused overlooked when part of family

Hyderabad: Sexual abuse of children is highly under reported in India. More instances of child sex abuse are being reported in the city but incidents that occur within the family, inside the four walls of a home, are not reported to the police. There is a blanket resistance to accepting that sexual predators can exist within one’s own family and prey on the young who are too confused or frightened to complain.   

Dr Prashanth, consultant psychopathologist, says, “A predator is someone whom you never suspect; it could be anyone. Predators indulge in such acts because they feel a sense of entitlement on the child. It also emanates from the predator’s past, in which he was subjected to sexual abuse and thus the misbehaviour turns a reference point to get on with the ill act (sic). Many of my patients who are in their 50s now speak about their dark past involving the assault by a known person like drivers or uncles. This is a chronic and not a one-time instance.”

He says families have reservations about complaining against “their own people” and also if the case is registered it might “tag the child as victim” for life. Families often overlook a child's complaint, thinking about the consequences of revealing the predator. According to Varsha Bhargavi, adviser to the Child Rights Protection Forum, when such instance happens and the predator is a known person, families do not believe the child because the predator is someone who has ‘groomed’ the child. The predator befriends the child by praising him/her, to make the child feel comfortable.

Sexual abuse can have far-reaching consequences for the child and his/her understanding of the world. It is thus important to be alert about possible incidents, listen to the child, report the case and counsel the child in the initial stage. 

Swati Lakra, IG, Women Safety Telangana stresses the criticality of reporting instances of child abuse. “Once time lapses, compromises can happen, that is why one should report immediately.”

Parents should be alert to changes in a child's behaviour such as withdrawing from a peer group or shying away from gatherings involving a certain person. Ms Lakra says that "anyone who knows about it, it is their responsibility to report it."