The Reality of CSA

Look around at the faces in a crowd … around 50% of the people you see have been sexually abused in their childhood!!!  

Sexual abuse of children is a very real problem in India, and the situation is aided by the absence of effective legislation and the silence that surrounds the offence.  

Abuse by family members, or nearest relatives is the most unreported crime of incest, a sexual impurity in almost all parts of the world. The shame and disgust they experience in disclosing their plight could take a heavy toll in the form of their socio-psychological behaviour, manifestations of which last a lifetime.  

Developed countries are often exemplified for such grossly reprehensible deeds, but the fact is even in traditional, conservative to the root countries like India where people often take a mental comfort in insolently believing in its non-existence, this category of child abuse has always existed in reality.

India has the dubious distinction of having the world’s largest number of sexually abused children with a child below 16 years raped every 155th minute and one in every 10 children sexually abused at any point in time. These figures resoundingly break the silence that surrounds sexual abuse of children.

Myths and Facts  

 Myth: Children are more likely to be abused by strangers.
 Fact:  Majority of child abusers are family members or those men that are known to the child and her family. Strangers do not have the same access over children and the opportunity to abuse that family members or known men have.

 Myth:  Abusers are abnormal, sick or mentally disturbed.
 Fact:   Abusers are in fact characterised by their normality and diversity. These labels seek to explain and excuse the actions of abusers.  Myth: Incest/child sexual abuse is not common in India 
 Fact:  Incest/child sexual abuse is a fact of life for many women and children in India. 

Sexual abuse is when a powerful person uses a vulnerable person for sexual gratification. It is an abuse of power and a violation of the child’s right to a normal and trusting relationship.

No child is safe, every child is vulnerable to sexual abuse. Abused children are the victims of a culture that prioritises family harmony, honour and duty more than individual trauma and pain.

The “silence about sex” culture forbids parents from talking to their children about sexuality. The problem does not appear big simply because it is suppressed. Although child abuse is rampant, India has no separate legislation to deal with it. These factors serve to perpetuate the problem in India.

Shocking Statistics

• In a survey with 350 schoolgirls in
  New Delhi by Sakshi (an NGO) in 1997, 63% had experienced sexual abuse by family members
• A 1997 study by RAHI in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Goa revealed that out of the 1,000 upper middle class college students interviewed 76% had been sexually abused as children, with 71% been abused either by someone they knew and trusted.
• Samvada’s 1996 study on students in
  Bangalore stated that 47% of the respondents had been sexually abused
• Tulir`s study in 2006, conducted among 2211 school going children in Chennai, indicates a CSA prevalence rate of 42%.
• A 1999 study by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai revealed that 58 of the 150 girls interviewed had been raped before they were 10 years old.

There is a clear behavioural and emotional pattern in the abused. To begin with, the child hardly talks about the incident. And, even if the child does, no one takes her seriously. The child then begins to feel that there is something wrong with her and develops low self-esteem. Sexual abuse leaves a deep emotional scar in children.

Several adult problems, have their roots in abuse in childhood. Sexual abuse has immediate as well as long-term effects on the child, from emotional and behavioural problems to abnormal sexual behaviour and psychiatric disorders.Most often, sexually abused children make no noise about their traumatic experiences.

For this secrecy to be broken, there is a need to lay stress on talking to children about sexual abuse, listening to them, believing them, and recognising symptoms such as physical complaints and behavioural and psychological changes.

This article has been extensively sourced from various internet websites, please read the original texts to get the complete picture –

• The Cry of Child Sexual Abuse – http://www.boloji.com/wfs/wfs192.htm
• Silent Victims – http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2021/stories/20031024001609000.htm
• http://www.tulircphcsa.org/