More than two child rape cases daily in Delhi till April: Police data

NEW DELHI: With more than two cases of child rape being reported everyday from the national capital, experts have stressed on the need for a rehabilitation policy for the victims.

Rehabilitation is about rebuilding the life of the victims of sexual assault and a policy is needed as these children live with the trauma for a long time, they said.

This emphasis comes close on the heels of a number of brutal rape cases in the national capital region recently.

In January, an eight-monthold girl was allegedly raped by her cousin in northwest Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Place, while in April, a 10-year-old girl was raped in a madrasa in Ghaziabad after the accused alleged took her from Ghazipur on the pretext of meeting his friends.

The 10-year-old’s father said that it has been a month since the horrific incident but she was still scared and struggling.

“She loses her temper very quickly. She hasn’t been able to step out of the home after the incident and is scared. She was counselled but after that she has not received any counselling,” he said.

According to Delhi Police data, more than two children were raped in the national capital every day in the first four months of this year.

Till April 30, 282 cases of child rape were reported as opposed to 278 last year during the same period. Last year, 894 such cases were reported, as per the data.

Delhi Commission For Women chairperson Swati Maliwal said there was a lack of sensitivity from the police due to the burden of cases and added that sometimes, even the parents blame the children.

“We have seen the parents blaming the children saying, ‘all is lost’. For a child, it is traumatic and confusing. The parents have no idea how to handle their children,” she said.

“Also, there is a lack of sensitivity on the part of police. There is an acute shortage of women investigating officers,” the women’s panel chief added.

The police, on the other hand, said they ensure that child rape cases are handled by women officers. However, the delay in sometimes reaching out to the victim, creates the perception of insensitivity, they said.