INDIA'S HIDDEN SHAME - SEXUAL ABUSE AND CHILD TRAFFICKING

Mr. A. Shaju

Child abuse is one of the most heinous and inhuman crimes against humanity. It means to maltreat a child physically or emotionally. Thus, any commission or omission of an act by a parent which leads to a harm or possibility of harm to the child can be categorized as child abuse. Not only the parents but also those who happen to be in the next circle of a child can be a cause of this ill treatment.

Ironically, a majority of child abuse cases occur in the home, school or the neighborhood next door. Child abuse can be differentiated into four major categories, namely, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and sexual abuse.

Child abuse traumatizes a child in various ways. From not providing required environment for a healthy growth, inflicting physical torture, mental trauma to sexually maltreating a child in any possible way, child abuse has many dirty unveiled facets. It may also include not providing required food, shelter, clothing, education and an environment that is necessary for an overall development of a child’s personality.

Physical abuse, as quoted earlier, has a wide range. Choking, burning, hitting and striking all comprise physical abuse. Further, any kind of sexual association in any form between a child and an adult again results into sexual abuse. Emotionally depraving a child, hurting his self esteem or inflicting any other kind of mental trauma is a physiological abuse against the child.

Causes are ample and also are very important to help fight against child abuse in any given form. Cultural norms, unsuccessful marriage, drug addiction comprise as the main causes of child abuse. Sometimes a child might also be inflicted to abuse in any which form without it being in the notice of the parents, for example, at the school, at the hands of some relative or the immediate neighborhood. The main reasons, though, are generated from the former. An unhappy marriage might yield an outcome which isn’t satisfactory for the spouses and thus the entire frustration can be vented on the child. It can be both, intentional or unintentional.

If the parents or parent of a child is given to the habit of drug addiction then again child abuse can be directly attributed to the habit. Since, in such a condition the parent fails to understand the seriousness in bringing up a child and might also not follow the law of the land. Cultural norms, though, are a bit difficult to explain, yet, form a major cause of child abuse. Many follow the tradition that they have grown up seeing and if they were subjected to child abuse as a child then the possibility is high for them to repeat the same without any guilt.

In India, many gruesome incidents of child abuse have been recorded in the past. Ranging from incest, rapes, sexual abuse, digital rape, sodomy, inappropriate touch to sexual assaults, India has a higher category of child sexual abuse than the other kind abuses.

The worst part is that such abuse is inflicted upon a child by a person in his immediate circle and a stunning majority of these cases go unnoticed. Also, reasons like shame, plain depravity and family honour contribute towards shunning and covering the cases of child abuse.

There have been incidents as heinous as a businessman raping his daughter continuously for nine years in order to follow the directions of his guru who told him that he shall attain never ending riches if he did what he was told to do. What is even more shocking is the fact that even the mother of the child was charged for abetting the crime. The unitary or joint family system that prevails in India hides underneath itself a very hideous facet of sexual abuses specially, against the girls.

Unfortunately, reports reveal that as many as three fourth of Indian women from middle class and upper middle class are subjected to sexual abuse and a shocking majority out of them is that of a girl child.

Obviously, alarmed at the given state of things Indian law and order has come up with stringent laws and severe punishments against this heinous offense. In a recent case where a five years old girl was digitally raped Delhi high court took a serious stance by suggesting that the definition of rape should be made age and gender neutral.

The offense of child abuse is highly grave in nature and leaves the child in a state of mental turmoil and physical torture. The parliament of India has been long awaited to make the law against child abuse even stricter, since the present law and order has many loopholes and thus the criminal gets discharged at a minimal punishment.

http://cozay.com/CHILD-ABUSE-IN-INDIA.php