Is Kerala becoming a ‘danger zone’ for children? In four months, from January to April, the State recorded 1,156 POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases, as per the statistics published on the official website of the Kerala Police. The number of unregistered cases could be higher.

Of the cases registered this year, Malappuram has the maximum number — 176. The victims ranged from school students to children on the streets. Pathanamthitta has the minimum number of cases, 25. The number of cases in other districts: Thiruvananthpuram City (50), Thiruvananthapuram Rural (97), Kollam City (44), Kollam Rural (46), Alappuzha (54), Kottayam (64), Idukki (44), Ernakulam City (36), Ernakulam Rural (78), Thrissur City (53), Thrissur Rural (29), Palakkad (82), Kozhikode City (36), Kozhikode Rural (58), Wayanad (48), Kannur (75), Kasaragod (60), Railway (1).

After the POCSO Act came into effect in 2012, the number of cases filed in the State till 2018 is 11,797. In all, 1,016 cases were registered in 2013. It went up to 1,402 in 2014. In 2017, the number of cases spiralled to 2,697 and by 2018, it was 3,174.

The high number of cases filed in the State has raised concern about the safety of children. It is said that the intervention of the police and the counselling provided in schools have been bringing the cases of abuses to light.