A Child Has Raped A Child In India And It's Not The First Time

An 11-year-old boy who studies in class IV allegedly raped a six-year-old girl, according to Agra police. The incident happened in Agra when the girl had gone for her evening tuition classes. The boy, whom she already knew, took her to an isolated place and sexually violated her. She returned home bleeding and is currently admitted to a local hospital where her condition is critical. The police apprehended the minor accused and sent him to the juvenile home. 

As per the reports, the police on Monday, April 8, said that the girl was admitted to a local hospital where her condition was said to be critical. The police officials informed the media that a team had been deployed in the village to avoid further issues as both the minors belong to different communities. The survivor's statement has not been recorded by the police yet. However, the girl's father has lodged an FIR at Etmadpur police station. He said in the FIR that the girl had gone for her tuition classes when the incident took place.

The father further stated, "When my daughter reached home around 7.30 pm, she was bleeding and somehow told us what happened. She knows the accused boy. We took her to the hospital and then went to the boy's house and handed him over to the police."  

DCP Sonam Kumar told NDTV, "The girl's condition remains unstable and doctors at SN Medical College are attending to her. Medical examination confirmed rape. Accused was booked, and sent to a juvenile home."

This is not the first time when a minor committed sexual crimes. 

Similar cases in which minors committed sexual crimes

Earlier this year, a 19-year-old brother raped his 17-year-old sister and strangulated her to death in Uttar Pradesh's Kasaganj. The accused raped his sister on the night of February 3 after watching porn on his mobile phone. The police arrested him on February 4. 

In another disturbing incident at the beginning of the year, a 14-year-old boy from South Delhi was made to lick shoes and perform sexual acts on three of his teenage friends. The friends also recorded the scene and put it up on social media.

On January 13, around 6:30 pm, the 14-year-old boy was returning home after playing at Central Park in Delhi's Hauz Khas when three of his friends, aged between 12 and 14 years, forced him to go to an isolated place. One of the trio pointed a vegetable knife at the 14-year-old boy and made him lick his shoes and perform an 'unnatural act'. The boy was forced to lick the shoes of his friends, and his friends also put their private parts into the boy's mouth. They made a recording of everything and posted it on social media.

The friends threatened the boy not to tell anyone about what had transpired between them. And so the boy didn't tell his family about his ordeal. However, the incident came to light when one of the assailants sent the video to the boy's mother. After receiving the video, the boy's mother approached the police.

In August 2023, four minor boys from the Kokrajhar district of Assam raped a minor girl and threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone. The four accused were arrested by the police. Assam Deputy General of Police, Gyanendra Pratap Singh said that the mother of the girl lodged a police complaint two months after the incident. In the FIR, the mother mentioned that her daughter had gone to the banks of River Champa to take a bath when the four boys gangraped her. 

Recently, the Kerala High Court raised concerns about the rising cases of boys being sexually assaulted under POCSO. The bench said, "Sexual assault is not confined to girls, it happens to boys also. It is rare but it is possible. I know that it is happening. But generally, we take care of women. Generally, ninety-nine per cent of sexual assault victims for some reason are women."

What do these cases tell us?

The rise of cases of minor boys assaulting or getting assaulted is shocking. How could minor boys indulge in sexual crimes? Are they old enough to understand the dynamics of sex or sexual abuse? 

Unfortunately, in our society, sex education is not normal. It is ignored as useless and obscene. But this doesn't change the fact that boys start developing sexual urges by the age of 10. They start developing a fascination towards sex. The hormonal changes, peer pressure and unsupervised exposure to sexual content affect or distort their idea of sex. Since no one is there to listen to them about the changes they are facing, they rely on friends of the same age and the same fascination to understand the changes. Will this help them get a healthy and right idea of sex? No. Rather, it will encourage their distorted perception and lead to worse consequences. 

What is the solution?

The best solution to this problem is for parents to step up and break the stigma around sex and pleasure. Rather than scolding them or dealing with them strictly, parents need to tell them about sex, consent, protection and masturbation. They should also tell them about the right age to indulge in sex and the right content to watch. While parents talk about consent, they must educate their minors about the wrong of rape or sexual assault and the consequences it will lead to. 

Do you remember the movie OMG 2? The movie talked about the necessity of educating teenagers about sex, sexual desires and masturbation. The boy who masturbated and used various wrong measures to not only increase the pleasure but also the length of the penis was influenced by a group of students of his age who also lacked knowledge. By the end, the movie strongly states that parents need to educate their minors about sex and masturbation and society needs to remove the stigma around them. 

Stop targeting women for the flaws of parenting, schooling or society 

Minor girls or women, in general, do not deserve to be the targets of the lack of sex education and the social stigma around it. Stop preying on random girls because the consequence of it affects not only the girl but the minor abusers also. Crimes like rape and sexual assault cannot be forgiven, even if it was committed by a minor. 

Views expressed are the author's own.