One In Every Two Children Victim Of Sexual Abuse: Survey

A survey conducted by humanitarian aid organization World Vision India has revealed that one in every two children is a victim of child sexual abuse, HindustanTimes reported.

The survey covered 45,000 children. The age group of the children was 12-18 and the participants were from across 27 states. The survey also revealed that one in every five children do not feel safe because of the fear of being sexually abused. One in every four families do not come forward to report child abuse, revealed the survey.

Cherian Thomas, National Director of World Vision India, said that even though child sexual abuse is on such a big magnitude, there is huge silence over the topic. He said that they are launching a campaign called “It Takes the World to End Violence against Children” to end child sexual abuse and exploitation by 2021. The campaign targets 10 million children across 25 states and one union territory.

“The campaign works through our area programs that deal with different issues of healthcare typically -- malnutrition and early illness, education, child rights and protection and the improvement of resilience in communities,” Thomas said.

He also mentioned that the area programs are based in 186 districts. The campaign will draw people from “all walks of life” to give children a safe environment. He feels that children should be trained for different aspects of life, they should be taught about the difference between good touch and bad touch, and the campaign intends to do just that.

“With 98% of rapes being committed by people known to the children, I feel it is time that we all come under one banner and umbrella to focus our work around child protection,” he said.

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