Cases of child abuse in Hyderabad on the rise

HYDERABAD: In yet another shocking incident, a 65-year-old worker was nabbed for allegedly outraging the modesty of a seven-year-old girl staying in his neighbourhood at Jawaharnagar. Ironically, it was the third such incident in less than a week.
Around 6.30pm on Saturday, Venkaiah, a casual worker from Jawaharnagar, reportedly lured the seven-year-old girl to his house when she was playing outside her house.“The accused, who knew the victim, took her to his building. However, one of the neighbours saw the girl going into the building and got suspicious,” an officer from the Jawaharnagar police station said.
According to cops, the accused was caught while molesting the minor and the family lodged a complaint with police. He has been taken into custody and booked for outraging the modesty and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident comes close on the heels of alleged rape and murder of a nine-month-old baby in Warangal.
Till May, the women and child welfare department has recorded 70 cases of child abuse under the POCSO Act in the city. Of them, 30 cases were reported in first two months of 2019.
With increasing child abuse cases in the city, child rights activists have raised concerns. In one of the recent cases, a five-year-old was allegedly raped by her own father for nearly two years. The shocking case came to light recently in the Neredmet police station limits.
Police face a tough time to record statement, especially in cases of victims less than six-year-old. “Children have their own language. So, we take the help of the mother to understand what happened. Sometimes, the victims just make gestures or show areas of their body where they were touched. We are extra careful in dealing with children. In most cases, a known person is the offender,” Cyberabad deputy commissioner of police (DCP) and SHE teams in-charge C Anasuya said.
“The government should form an expert committee to come up with an action plan to curb the menace,” NGO Balala Hakkula Sangham president Achyuta Rao said.
Psychiatrists advice parents to observe for any change in a child’s behaviour and address the root cause of the change like if a child starts starts avoiding people or refuses to go to a relative’s place.
“Child abuse is a traumatic experience and in some cases it led to problems even in the victim’s married life. In some instances, the abuse came to light after 10 years,” Dr Radhika Acharya, a psychiatrist, said.
Of late, victims facing abuse from teachers and sports coaches have knocked the doors of police. “Coaches, especially those involved in tennis, chess and karate, have been accused of abuse. In most cases, families are reluctant to lodge a complaint, but we book a petty case and keep a check on such cases. During the recent vacation, we conducted awareness programmes at several coaching centres,” DCP Anasuya added.