As Govt Fails To Stop Child Rapes In Delhi, Experts Seek Rehabilitation Centre For Victims

Delhi is currently the most unsafe place for the kids. If the recent data by Delhi Police is to be believed, at least two children are raped in the national capital daily. While there seems t be no step taken for their security, experts are demanding that the city at least should have a rehabilitation policy for the victims.

The emphasis comes in wake of repeated rapes of the minor or the children as young as a few months old. In January, an eight-month-old girl was allegedly raped by her cousin in northwest Delhi's Netaji Subhash Place, while in April, a 10-year-old girl was raped in a madrasa in Ghaziabad after the accused allegedly took her from Ghazipur on the pretext of meeting his friends.

The 10-year-old's father said that it has been a month since the horrific incident but she was still scared and struggling.

"She loses her temper very quickly. She hasn't been able to step out of the home after the incident and is scared. She was counselled but after that, she has not received any counselling," he said.

According to the data, more than two children are raped daily in the first four months this year. Till April 30 this year, a total of 282 cases of child rape were reported while last year it was four short in the same period of time.

Last year, 894 cases of rapes reported in Delhi and DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal says lack of sensitivity from the police.

"We have seen the parents blaming the children saying, 'all is lost'. For a child, it is traumatic and confusing. The parents have no idea how to handle their children," she said. "Also, there is a lack of sensitivity on the part of police since they are also handling many cases at the same time. There is an acute shortage of women investigating officers," the women's panel chief added.

The police said that they ensure that child rape cases are taken over by women officers. However, they acknowledged that delay in reaching out to the victim often leads to insensitivity.

"The law says that child rapes will be handled by women investigating officers. Many times, it happens that the women officers have left for home after finishing their eight-hour shifts," a senior police officer said.

"If such a case is reported, the women personnel are specially called and that sometimes causes a delay of a couple of hours, making the victim's family feel that the police are not understanding their trauma," the officer said.