Over 1,000 Cases Of Children Being Molested In Own Homes In 2022: Kerala Child Rights Panel Report

Kerala state child rights panel said overall 4,582 child abuse cases were reported in the southern state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) in 2022.

According to the child rights panel assessment, 93% of those implicated in POCSO instances were men, while 2% were women.

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A report compiled by the state child rights panel found that among the child abuse cases reported in Kerala in 2022 many offenses took part at the residence of the survivors itself. The figures in the recent report showed that the homes of the survivors were not safe for them. Most of the children were under the age group of 15-18 years while 55 survivors belonged to the age group of 0–4 years.

According to Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for 2022-23, the annual report stated that child abuse was reported at home in 1,004 incidents of the total 4,582 cases reported in the southern state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act during 2022, as per PTI.

Around 1004 out of the 4,582 POCSO cases whose locations of the offense were examined revealed that the children had been abused in their own homes, said the report.

The children were also subjected to molestation in schools in 133 cases, vehicles in 102 cases, hotels/lodges in 99 cases, religious institutions in 60 cases, hospitals in 29 cases and so on.

In the 4582 POCSO cases that were recorded in the state last year, there were a total of 4642 survivors. The report added, "This indicates that there is more than one survivor in many cases. Under this circumstance, children should be given awareness about POCSO laws and child-friendly procedures."

Most of the child abuse cases were reported from Thiruvananthapuram and the least number of cases were reported from Pathanamthitta. The highest number of cases was 583 while the lowest number of cases was 189 in the districts. 

According to the survey, out of the 4,642 survivors, 4008 were girls and 578 were boys, and the numbers show that more girls were sexually assaulted.

Of the accused, 16 per cent were "lovers", 12 per cent were neighbours, 9 per cent were family, 8 per cent were relatives and 3 per cent were teachers, said the report. 

According to the child rights panel assessment, 93% of those implicated in POCSO instances were men, while 2% were women.