T’puram dist tops in sexual offences against children

Thiruvananthapuram: Despite awareness drives and stringent legal measures, cases of sexual abuse of children have spiked in the state capital, according to the data shared by the State Crime Records Bureau.As many as 601 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) in 2023. This number was 358 in 2020, 436 in 2021 and 500 in 2022.The figures from the crime records bureau are extremely distressing and reveal the fact that there has been a steady rise in child abuse incidents in the state capital.Thiruvananthapuram is also the district where the maximum number of Pocso cases were registered in 2023. On the list of districts, Thiruvananthapuram is followed by Malappuram (507) and Eranakulam (484). In Kozhikode, as many as 421 cases were registered, while in Kollam and Thrissur as many as 375 and 369 cases were reported, respectively. Pathanamthitta recorded the lowest number of Pocso cases (177). The number of cases recorded in the rural parts of Thiruvananthapuram was higher than the figures in the city areas. A total of 407 Pocso cases were registered in rural Thiruvananthapuram while 194 cases were recorded in the city areas in 2023.City police commissioner CH Nagaraju said: “The incidence of sexual assault offences against children is on the rise and this is a very simplistic view. On the other hand, we should also understand the fact that reporting of incidents is also on the rise. This is because more awareness programmes and sensitization campaigns are being conducted in schools about bad touch and good touch. More and more counselling sessions are being organized in schools to get information from children till they become comfortable reporting about such incidents,” said the commissioner. The commissioner also said that incidents of abuse and assault that took place 10 years ago are also getting reported at times. “It also raises doubts about the plausibility of the incident,” added the commissioner. The rise in incidents of child abuse cases was very alarming there was an urgent need to find out the actual reason behind this horrifying trend, said experts. “It was high time the law enforcement agencies focused on sensitization programmes at the school level. The state government must come forward to hold a proper study over this to find out the exact cause behind it,” said Sandhya J, a child rights activist.A top cop, who does not want to be named, said that 20% of the Pocso cases registered are not genuine and it contributes to the rising cases. The top cop also urged various agencies to come forward to raise awareness among the rural folks to curb the soaring Pocso cases.