Cases of child rape increased by 96 percent in six years, more cases registered after improvement in public awareness

From 2016 to 2022, cases of child rape have increased by 96 per cent. This has come to light after analysis of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data by child rights NGO CRY.

Subhendu Bhattacharjee, director of research and knowledge exchange at Child Rights and You (CRY), said more cases of sexual crimes against children have been reported following improvements in public awareness. In this regard, the victims and their families have come forward to lodge reports through helplines, online portals and special agencies. Analysis conducted by Crye shows that there was a 6.9 per cent increase in these cases between 2021 and 2022 alone.

According to the analysis, 38,911 cases of child rape have been reported in 2022 alone, which marks an increase over the cases reported in previous years. This number was 30,705 in 2020 and 31,132 in 2019. At the same time, 30,917 cases were registered in the year 2018, whereas in 2017 this number was 27,616. According to NCRB data, there were 19,765 reported cases in the year 2016.

Bhattacharjee said that openly discussing sensitive issues like child sexual abuse has ended the practice of social silence. Encouraging open dialogue about child sexual abuse and speaking out without fear has led to more reports of abuse being filed. He said enacting strong laws that ensure child protection and safeguards to align with national and international legal requirements are essential steps in this regard.

Bhattacharjee praised the strengthening of laws against sexual crimes targeting children and the active participation of media coverage and civil society organizations. Pointing to the underlying socio-cultural and economic factors such as poverty, lack of livelihood, and social norms, Bhattacharjee stressed the need for a multi-pronged strategy to effectively deal with crimes against children.