The number of child abuse cases have gone up. According to a report, the total number of calls reporting various kinds of abuses against children in Delhi received by Childline 1098 ¡ª a toll-free, 24x7 emergency helpline service for children in distress ¡ª has increased by over 44 per cent in the last one year.?
Childline received a total of? 2467 calls in 2016-2017 against a total of 3,559 calls in 2017-2018 which is a 44 per cent increase in the number of calls received.??
The cases of abuse reported against female children increased from 871 in?2016-2017 to 1,104 in 2017-2018. However, cases of abuse against male children have remained higher with 1,596 calls in 2016-2017 which further increased to 2,455 in the?year 2017-2018.?
¡°Over the year, a slightly higher number of calls were serviced by Childline in the city. Among the calls received, a large number was requesting for protection of children against various abuses. Although we have reached out more to vulnerable boys as per the data, it doesn¡¯t mean the girls are less vulnerable. People still seem to be hesitant to report abuses taking place against girls,¡± said a Childline official to The New Indian Express.
The helpline is run by Childline India Foundation, a non-government organisation recognised by Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) as India¡¯s national emergency helpline for children.
The crime against children are on a rise and National Crime Record Bureau? (NCRB) data also show that the country is getting more unsafe for children.?
The statistics from NCRB show that while in 2015, 10,854 cases of rape under Section 376 of the IPC and under Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were registered, 2016? further saw the rise in cases as 19,765 of such cases were registered. Here we don¡¯t intend to name or shame any particular state and its people, but record shows that Madhya Pradesh (2,467), Maharashtra (2,292), Uttar Pradesh (2,115), Odisha (1,258) and Tamil Nadu (1,169) are among the state where crime against children especially child-rape is on a rise.