KOZHIKODE: The majority of the sexual abuse victims housed in Nirbhaya shelter homes in the state are tribal girls. Though they form only less than two per cent of the state’s total population (1.09), over 40 per cent of the Nirbhaya inmates hail from tribal communities which are exploited by outsiders through drugs and liquor.
“The condition is the worst in the districts of Wayanad, Idukki and Palakkad, which have tribal presence. The girls are molested by their relatives’ husbands, who live outside their territory and visit the tribal colonies often. In many cases, men marry the minor girls of their tribe as part of the custom and the husbands land in jail,” said Mahila Samakhya Society (MSS) state project coordinator P. E. Usha.
The MSS runs eight Nirbhaya shelters out of the total 11 in the state. There are three in Thiruvananthapuram and one each in Malappuram, Wayanad, Kasargod, Idukki, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thrissur.
The home in Kozhikode is under Anweshi and the one in Ernakulam under the Cultural Academy for Peace. “We have informed the National Child Rights Commission about the strange situation in Kerala, where the status of tribal girls has not improved. Even after we proceed with the case, there is no legal and monetary support from the government other than the frequent enquiries by the police,” says Usha.
Nirbhaya shelter homes in the state are struggling for survival after the Social Justice Department stopped the funds for them from December onward. The
current year’s budget also has less amount to the project compared to last year. From April onward, the Ministry of Human Resource Development will also stop giving aid to the MSS.
