Crime against children: TS witnesses 15 cases per day; girls biggest victims

Hyderabad: A new report has revealed that over 15 crimes against children were committed every day in Telangana in 2021. Child Rights and You (CRY) revealed startling facts after analyzing the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

According to the NCRB's latest 'Crime in India report, a total of 5,667 crimes against children were recorded in the state in 2021. It is 34.9 percent more than 2020. In 2020, 4,200 cases were registered in the state.

CRY analyzed crimes against children data for five years. According to its findings, crimes against children in Telangana have gone up by 58.3 percent from 2017-2021. This was 42.5 percent higher than the pan-India increase of 15.8 percent in the last five years. Various studies found that crimes against children increased during Covid-19. John Roberts, Regional Director of CRY said: "The government has launched several programs and schemes to ensure children have protected childhoods, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a deterrent to the well-being of children and the NCRB 2021 data for Telangana establishes that."

Major crimes and survivors

NCRB 2021 data revealed of the 1,836 children victims, 1,835 were girls and only 1 was a boy (6-12 years). It points out the vulnerability of girls being victims of crimes and criminal activities. The highest number of crimes (918) were committed against girls in the age group of 12-16 years followed by 741 in the age group of 16-18 years, making it a total of 1,659 cases in the 12-18 years age group.

In terms of major crimes, the state recorded 1,748 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children, 2,698 cases of crimes under POCSO, 102 cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, and 45 cases under the 'simple hurt' category.

In terms of cybercrimes, Telangana reported the highest number of such cases in India. However, there were 17 cases of cybercrimes against children that were recorded in the state last year. In terms of perpetrators, 99.8 percent of offenders were known to be child victims in 2021. "It is crucial to address the increasing concern of children's protection, both at the level of the system and society. At the systemic level, there is a need to allocate adequate resources and budget for child protection and society so that the implementation of schemes and child protection systems can be strengthened," John said.

"In terms of society, it is crucial for every citizen to realize their role and be vigilant, and report cases of crimes against children. Also, child protection mechanisms in the communities including Village Child Protection Committees (VCPCs) need to be empowered since they are the vigilant task force responsible to avert crimes at the village level and can play a significant role in protecting children," he added.

Pendency of cases

NCRB data revealed that the charge sheet rate (75.9%) of crime against children has slightly improved by 0.5 percent in the state in 2021 compared to 75.4 percent in 2020. The pendency of cases at the police station has declined to 32.4 percent from 40.3 percent the last year, meaning a higher number of cases were resolved by the police in 2021. Also, the pendency rate of cases at court has slightly declined by 0.5 percent in the state from 86.3 in 2020 to 85.8 percent in 2021 i.e. more cases have been resolved by the court.