Navi Mumbai: Man Held For Raping And Impregnating 15-Year-Old Niece

In a shocking incident, a 34-year-old man was charged for raping his 15-year-old niece and impregnating her. The police nabbed the accused and imposed relevant charges on him. As per the reports, the accused was the maternal uncle of the minor and hails from Nerul in Navi Mumbai. He allegedly raped her in his house on October 4, 2023. Later, when a girl complained about suffering from health issues, she was admitted to a hospital in the Govandi area of neighbouring Mumbai. 

When the doctors examined her, it was discovered that she was pregnant. The hospital authorities immediately informed the Nerul Police Station. The police then caught the accused and forced charges Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other Indian Penal Code.

Other incidents of children being sexually abused by their known 

It wasn't long ago that a special POCSO court in Mumbai sentenced a 28-year-old teacher from Govandi to five years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually harassing three female students who were all below 12 years. 

In January, a 14-year-old boy 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. As per the reports, on Saturday 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.

In December last year, a nine-year-old girl was abducted, raped and then strangled to death by a 52-year-old man who was her landlord. The crime occurred in Delhi's Swaroop Nagar, where the man lured the girl for a car ride when she was playing outside her house. After murdering her, he dumped her body in a secluded canal. The accused has confessed his crime but the girl's parents are demanding that he should be sentenced to death. 

Why are cases of minors being assaulted by people they know on the rise? If minor girls and boys are not safe with their family and friends, how will they find safety outside? What are we doing to protect children from sexual or physical abuse? Are we teaching them how to defend themselves? Are we teaching them to differentiate between good and bad touch? 

The situation of POCSO and other laws for child sexual abuse

The process of filing a complaint about child sexual abuse is long and taxing. Unfortunately, India needs at least 9 years to clear all the backlog of cases reported under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. According to a recent report by the India Child Protection Fund (ICPF), titled ‘Justice Awaits: An Analysis of the Efficacy of Justice Delivery Mechanisms in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse in India, only 3 per cent of the cases under the POCSO Act have resulted in a conviction. Over 2.43 lakh cases are pending at the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) as of January 31 2023.

This is despite the fact that the court has set up fast-track courts with the help of the Women And Child Development Ministry. It has been three years since the courts were established but none of them can meet the target of disposing of 165 cases every year, with 41-42 cases a quarter.

However, the positive news is that people are becoming sensitive towards child sexual abuse. This is evident from the fact that more cases are being reported. Child rape cases have seen a rise of 96 per cent from 2016 to 2022. An analysis of the NCRB report by child rights NGO CRY (Child Rights and You) revealed that there has been a rise in the number of child sexual assault cases. Speaking about the potential reasons behind the same, the director of research and knowledge exchange at CRY, Subhendu Bhattacharjee, mentioned in the report how improved public awareness has led to more people reporting any case of child sexual assault.