Kerala has recorded the highest number of child sexual abuse complaintsin the country. According to 2018-19 data from Childline, a nationwide phoneemergency outreach service for children in distress, Kerala recorded 1,742complaints among Indian states. Tamil Nadu recorded 985 and Maharashtra recorded443.
Supported by the Union ministry of women and child development, Childline¡°1098¡± covers 522 districts and 100 railways stations across India.
According to a report by The Timesof India, ¡°In 2018-19, nearly 60,000 abuse complaints were received fromacross India, of which those of child marriages topped the chart (37 per cent).Physical abuse was next (27 per cent), followed by sexual abuse (13 per cent),emotional abuse (12 per cent) and?corporal punishment?(4 percent). The top five districts that made child sexual abuse complaints were allfrom Kerala ¡ª Mallapuram, Thiruvananthpuram, Kozhikode,?Ernakulam?and Kollam.¡±
Child rights activist Priti Patkar told TOI: ¡°There is a lot of awareness being created at different levelsand so there are more people coming forward to report. There is also a lot ofaccess to information and therefore more disclosure.¡±
Of the 7,684 child sexual abuse cases reported to Childline across thecountry, 35 per cent of them were neighbours. Friends, family, neighbours,relatives, teachers, step-parents, caretakers and employers together constitute73 per cent of child sex abusers.?
In 2018-19, Karnataka registered the most number of child labour complaints.
Of the 35,500 child labour complaints received nationwide, beggingconstituted the highest (40 per cent), followed by employment in restaurantsand dhabas (21 per cent).