5 fold hike in rape of kids from 1994 to 2016: Report

There was a fivefold increase in rapes of children from 1994 to 2016 even as under-five mortality has reduced and the access to education has increased significantly, according to a new report of an alliance of six child rights organisations.

Child Fund India, Plan India, Save the Children India, SOS Children’s Villages India, Terre Des Homes, and World Vision India released the report on Wednesday under the banner of Joining Forces.

The report titled Child Rights in India – an unfinished agenda also evaluated the performances via-a-vis child rights of states and Union territories on 15 parameters like under-five mortality, sex ratio, access to education, play and recreation, protection from violence and child marriages among others.

With a score of 297 out of 360, Puducherry emerged as the best performer in terms of child rights, according to the report. The worst performers are Rajasthan (116), Uttar Pradesh (105) and Jharkhand (100). The report cited the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data and said the rapes increased from 3,986 in 1994 to 19,765 in 2016.

In 2016, 106,958 crimes against children were reported. Of these, 52% related to abduction and 34% to sexual offences, including rape.

“A large number of children are trafficked not only for sex trade but also for other forms of non-sex based exploitation that includes domestic labour, industrial labour, agricultural labour, begging, organ trade, and false marriage,” the report said.

Declining child sex ratio is another cause of concern. The progress has also been slow in combating malnutrition.

Plan India executive director Anuja Bansal underlined the need for the children to feel protected and safe.

Save The Children India CEO Bidisha Pillai said: “...we shine a light on the parameters that need to be improved further. Ensuring that the child rights reach the most marginalised will take double the effort now.”

Government think-tank NITI Aayog special secretary Yaduvendra Mathur said there is a need to invest more in the social sector to improve such parameters.

First Published: Jul 04, 2019 07:31 IST