Home, not-so-sweet home?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to the latest statistics released by the Kerala Police, Malappuram reported 277 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) cases from January to September this year, the highest in the state. Thiruvananthapuram ranked second with 261 cases — 184 in the rural limits and 77 in the city. Pathanamthitta reported the lowest, with 76 cases so far. While Ernakulam registered 336 Pocso cases in 2019, it came down to 164 till September this year . 

While this could barely be considered a positive change, police officials are suspicious of even this decrease. They claim the marginal drop in numbers could be a result of children staying at home due to the Covid-19 outbreak. “Schools are closed and children are at home and neighbourhoods all the time. In most cases, the abusers are in or around their households like relatives or neighbours.

We believe that most child abuse cases are probably going unreported because children now have very little contact with their classmates or teachers, reducing opportunities for them to open up about the abuse,” said ADGP Manoj Abraham.

The number of Pocso cases reported in other districts this year are: Kozhikode -- 199; Kollam -- 182; Thrissur -- 185; Palakkad -- 178); Kochi -- 164; Alappuzha -- 140; Idukki -- 124; Kasaragod -- 121; Kannur -- 104; Kottayam -- 89, and Wayanad -- 87. The police also registered 1,668 cases of non-sexual crimes against children till September this year.

Special courts for children
According to the Supreme Court directive issued on July 22 last year, dedicated courts to handle Pocso cases have to be set up in all districts with more than 100 cases pending trial under 60 days. Following this, five new Pocso courts were set up in the state recently. “Special Posco courts have been a long-pending demand. Setting up more such courts will help speed up trial which otherwise gets delayed,” said the ADGP.

Childline for awareness
Childline has come up with more innovative programmes to sensitise the public about abuse of children and preventing such incidents. “Almost every day, we get cases in which small girls are blackmailed or misused in their domestic environment. We have already strengthened our awareness programmes roping more youngsters in them so that they become agents of a child-friendly society. Recently, we held an online session on protection of children which was attended by National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers, students and teachers from various schools and colleges across the capital district. More such programmes are in the pipeline,” said Saji Elambasseril, childline director, Thiruvananthapuram

Online predators  on the prowl
Manoj Abraham also highlighted that increased internet usage during the lockdown has resulted in a surge in online queries related to child pornography. “We have been spreading awareness through social media platforms including Facebook and organisations like Childline,” said Abraham, who is also the head of the Countering Child Sexual Exploitation (CCSE) team. Under the online surveillance operation ‘P-Hunt-20.2’ conducted last month, the police arrested 41 people from across the state on charges of “seeking, browsing, collecting and downloading” child pornography.

Compared to the last few years, Kerala is likely to record only a slight decrease in the number of Pocso cases this year. In 2019, 3,348 cases of sexual assault on children were reported in the state. This year, the figure touched 2,187 in just nine months. With children staying at home and having little contact with the outside world, police claim the drop could also be a result of offences going unreported. TNIE delves into the recent findings.