Child Abuse Study: India 2007

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India is

happy to share the report of the National Study on Child Abuse

titled " Study on Child Abuse: INDIA 2007 " , which was launched by the

Hon'ble Minister of State Smt. Renuka Chowdhury.

The aim of the study was to develop a dependable and comprehensive

understanding of the phenomenon of child abuse, with a view to

facilitate the formulation of appropriate policies and programs meant

to effectively curb and control the problem of child abuse in India.

The National Study on Child Abuse is one of the largest empirical in-

country studies of its kind in the world. This study also complements

the UN Secretary General's Global Study on Violence against Children

2006.

The initiative of the Ministry to conduct this study was supported by

UNICEF and Save the Children. A Delhi based NGO, Prayas was

contracted to design and conduct the research and submit a

preliminary report.

After the submission of the preliminary report, the MWCD appointed a

Core Committee to review the complete data, analyze the findings and

produce the final report along with recommendations.

The study has provided revealing statistics on the extent and

magnitude of various forms of child abuse- an area by and large

unexplored. The study has also thrown up data on variations among

different age groups, gender variations, state variations and

variations within evidence groups. The findings will help to

strengthen the understanding of all stakeholders including families,

communities, civil society organizations and the state.

Major Findings:

1. Across different forms of abuse, and across different evidence

groups, the younger children (5-12 years of age) have reported higher

levels of abuse than the other two age groups

2. Boys, as compared to girls, are equally at risk of abuse

3. Persons in trust and authority are major abusers

4. 70% of abused child respondents never reported the matter to anyone

Physical Abuse

1. Two out of every three children are physically abused

2. Out of 69% children physically abused in 13 sample states, 54.68%

were boys

3. Over 50% children in all the 13 sample states were being subjected

to one or the other form of physical abuse

4. Out of those children physically abused in family situations,

88.6% were physically abused by parents

5. 65% of school going children reported facing corporal punishment

i.e.two out of three children were victims of corporal punishment

6. The State of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi have almost

consistently reported higher rates of abuse in all forms as compared

to other states

7. Most children did not report the matter to anyone

8. 50.2% children worked seven days a week

Sexual Abuse

1. 53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual

abuse.

2. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest

percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls.

3. 21.90% child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual

abuse and 50.76% other forms of sexual abuse.

4. Out of the child respondents, 5.69% reported being sexually

assaulted.

5. Children in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi reported the

highest incidence of sexual assault.

6. Children on street, children at work and children in institutional

care reported the highest incidence of sexual assault.

7. 50% abuses are persons known to the child or in a position of

trust and responsibility.

8. Most children did not report the matter to anyone

Emotional Abuse and Girl Child Neglect

1. Every second child reported facing emotional abuse

2. Equal percentage of both girls and boys reported facing emotional

abuse

3. In 83% of the cases parents were the abusers

4. 48.4% of girls wished they were boys

The gravity of the situation demands that the issue of child abuse be

placed on the national agenda.

The Ministry on its part has taken measures such as the enabling

legislation to establish the National and State Commissions for

Protection of Rights of the Child, the Integrated Child Protection

Scheme, the draft Offences against Children Bill etc.

These are a few important steps to ensure protection of children of

the country. But clearly, this will not be enough, the government,

civil society and communities need to complement each other and work

towards creating a protective environment for children. The momentum

gained needs to enhance further discussion on the issue amongst all

stakeholders and be translated into a movement to ensure protection

of children of this country.

The report can be accessed from the Ministry's website

http://www.wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf

For any further queries on the study, please feel free to contact me

through email loveleenkacker@ gmail.com or phone 91-11-23387683.

Thanks

Dr. Loveleen Kacker

Joint Secretary (Child Welfare)

Ministry of Women and Child Development

Government of India

Shastri Bhawan

New Delhi-110001 INDIA

e-mail: <loveleenkacker@ gmail.com>