INDIA:Two-thirds of Indian children are physically abused and more than half have faced some form of sexual abuse, a government study backed by the UN Save the Children Fund has revealed.
Commissioned by the ministry of women and child development, the survey, which involved questioning almost 12,500 children and parents across 13 of India's 29 states and took two years to complete, also found 70 per cent of children never reported the abuse they suffered.
Half of the cases of sexual abuse were committed by people known to the child or by someone in a position of trust and responsibility, said the report, which is the first the government has organised on this controversial issue that is rarely discussed or even acknowledged.
While physical and sexual abuse of children is illegal in India, it is still prevalent in the home and in schools. This is especially true among street children, working children and those in institutional care, the report said.
Surprisingly, the survey found that of the children beaten at home, almost 90 per cent were beaten by their parents.
Releasing the report in the capital New Delhi earlier this week, minister for women and child development Renuka Chowdhury said that there was a tradition of denying child abuse in India. "By remaining silent, we have aided and abetted the abuse of children," she said, adding that the findings were "disturbing" and calling for an end to the "conspiracy of silence".
Child rights activists also welcomed the study, saying it was positive that the government was finally waking up to reality.
Kailash Sathyarthi of Save the Children said: "Homes, schools and neighbourhoods are not safe for our children, as most people don't even believe that hitting or sexually abusing a child is a serious crime." Laws, he added, needed to be strengthened and mindsets needed to be changed if they were serious about protecting the children.
Dr Loveleen Kacker - the official in charge of child welfare in the ministry, who compiled the report - said the study revealed that, contrary to the belief that only girls were abused, boys were equally at risk, if not more so. The study also called for efforts to make society aware of the rights of children. Officials say the data will help them formulate better policies in this field.
India has almost 19 per cent of the world's children with one-third of the country's population - 440 million people - comprising youngsters below 18. It has millions of child workers employed in hazardous industries and in homes and small restaurants, which makes them vulnerable to both violence and exploitation.
Last year, the government banned children under 14 from being employed this way.