Child sexual abuse: Issues & concerns

The child sexual abuse is an under-reported offence in India, which has reached epidemic proportion. A recent study on prevalence of sexual abuse among adolescents in Kerala, reported that 36 per cent of boys and 35 per cent of girls had experienced sexual abuse at some point of time. A similar study conducted by the Government of India in 17,220 children and adolescents to estimate the burden of sexual abuse revealed shocking results and showed that every second child in the country was sexually abused; among them, 52.94 per cent were boys and 47.06 per cent were girls. Highest sexual abuse was reported in Assam (57.27%) followed by Delhi (41%), Andhra Pradesh (33.87%) and Bihar (33.27%)