UP tops in crime against children, rape accounts for more than 18%

LUCKNOW : The National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) recent data suggests that Uttar Pradesh tops the list in crime against minors, with around 15% share of total crime against children in the country. The data analysis also suggests that the second biggest category of crime against children in terms of numbers is rape, amounting to more than 18% of all crimes against kids, while crimes under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences act constitute around 4% of total crimes.

The data also reveals that more than 50% crimes against children have been recorded in just five states, namely UP, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi UT and West Bengal.

The data also shows that there has been a sharp increase of 11% in crimes against children across the country between 2015 and 2016. Going by absolute numbers, it’s an increase of 12,786 reported crimes against children across the country. The total number of crimes against children reported in 2016 was 1, 06,958, while 94,172 crimes were recorded in 2015.

This, however, does not come as a surprise, as a cumulative analysis by child rights organisation CRY (Child Rights and You) shows a steady upward trend with a significant increase of more than 500% over a period of the past one decade (1,06,958 in 2016 over 18,967 in 2006). Further retrospective comparison within the mentioned time-frame points at a sharper rate of increase in the

THE DATA ALSO REVEALS THAT MORE THAN 50% CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN JUST FIVE STATES

latter quadrennium (2012 to 2016) than that recorded in the former lustrum (2006 to 2011).

Komal Ganotra, director, policy and advocacy in CRY said, “The unfortunate truth is that the same trend of increase is witnessed this year again, indicating that we have not been able to address the age-old issue over the years. It’s time we ensure a more robust protective environment for children.”

“It also does indicate that children have become increasingly exposed to the risk of becoming victims in recent years,” she added. However, to some extent this steep rise in numbers could be attributed to increased awareness among the people and the law enforcing agencies in reporting and recording crimes in recent years. Going by the nature of crimes and categories, kidnapping and abduction clearly top the list with almost half of the total crimes (48.9%, number of crimes 52,253) recorded in 2016. “This is clearly indicative of the fact that we are still way short of building a fool-proof safety-net for our children. While ICPS talks about provisions of multilayered protective rings around children, in reality this is still a distant cry,” Komal added.

The CRY analysis also suggested that the next biggest category of crime against children in terms of numbers was rape, amounting to more than 18% of all crimes against children, while crimes under POCSO Act constituted around 4% of total crimes.

Further analysis suggests that UP recorded maximum number of crimes under the categories of ‘Kidnapping & Abduction’ and ‘POCSO Act’; as in both these categories Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh stand in the second and third slot respectively.

Ganotra said the current trend in some states like UP continued to throw up worries about the magnitude of crime against children. She said this called for further thinking in terms of differential strategies for critical states along with ensuring adequate investment. Also, this was a grim reminder of the fact that we, as a country, did not have proper prevention mechanisms in place to address the issue of child protection, nor were we keen on building more empathetic understanding and intervention plans adequately backed up by sustained investment on child security, she added. On tackling increasing crime rate against children, Ganotra said, “Child protection in our country cannot be ensured with just legislations and guidelines. We as a country need to commit in cultivating a culture of zero tolerance to violence against children. We should be vigilant and cognizant of the fact that children are at risk. It is non-negotiable for the state and other duty bearers to equip themselves in recognising these risks and put robust systems and processes to assess and eliminate the same.”