The first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, which coincided with the national lockdown, turned out to be emotionally challenging for children in the district, going by figures compiled by Childline.
As many as 57 cases of emotional abuse of children were reported, with the numbers progressively rising from just three in April to 25 in May and 29 in June. At 32, girls were predominantly on the receiving end of emotional abuse.
Continued emotional mistreatment, which sometimes is psychological in nature, qualifies as emotional abuse and involves attempts to scare, humiliate, isolate, and neglect. Childline has found that emotionally abused children invariably suffer from some other form of abuse or neglect as well.
“In most cases, neighbours who already had some running feuds with the families of children have emerged as the perpetrators. Alcoholic father was the source of emotional abuse in some cases, and that had an impact on the academics of the victims as well,” said Jithin Xavier, district coordinator, Childline.
The three-month period also witnessed 12 child sexual abuse cases. Girls, seven, again were mostly the victims. Children in the age group of six to12 and 13 to 16 were found to be the most vulnerable lot. The abusers were mostly known to the victims and included relatives, neighbours, and lovers.
Sexual assault, penetrative sexual assault, and sexual harassment were the most reported forms of child sexual abuse. There was even a case of incest in which children were abused by their uncles and aunts. Pornography that involved sending messages with sexual intentions, capturing private parts and sexual images of victims, and storing them as child sexual abuse material was also reported.
“An encouraging aspect was the low threshold level of tolerance, as none of the victims had any similar experience in the past. The cases were reported within a window of a week to five to six months,” said Mr. Xavier. In seven cases, the perpetrators could be arrested thanks to the willingness of parents or guardians to report the matter. All 12 children are now back to their normal routine and living with their parents.
Childline has also reported 21 cases of physical abuse of children during the period, with children in the 11 to 15 age group being the victims mostly. Beating with hands or sticks or cane has emerged as the commonest form of physical abuse.
Father has emerged as the biggest perpetrator, while mother and grandparents were also involved in some cases. Almost all types of abuses had taken place either at home or at a place near home. “The tension of family being locked up together could be one of the reasons for emotional and physical abuse during the period. Otherwise, children were safer as reflected in fewer child sexual abuse cases. Besides, it also facilitated increased reporting,” said Mr. Xavier.