more-in Two days ago, the city police arrested a 32-year-old migrant worker from Edappally on charges of sexually abusing his 11-year-old niece. Preliminary investigations revealed that Sheyasi Sheikh, a native of Uttar Pradesh, had abused the girl on several occasions. Her ordeal was revealed when a neighbour witnessed the incident even as her parents remained in denial for long. They eventually succumbed to intense grilling by the police and the accused landed in police custody. According to the Childline activists, the incident is just the latest in a string of child sexual abuse cases that have rocked the region. There has been a steady rise in the number of such cases reported from the region over the last couple of years, they say. The statistics available with the agency also corroborates this. For instance, the agency intervened in over 90 child sexual abuse cases from April 2016 to February 2017 as against 81 cases during the previous year. The number of abuse cases reported by the agency steadily rose from 53 in 2013-14 to 68 in 2014-15. Violence against children “Complaints of violence against children, which include all forms of physical and psychological assaults at home, school or even inside school buses, have shown a steady rise over these years. Adding to the concerns, the average age of victims involved in sexual abuse cases has come down to 10-11 years from 15-16 years reported a few years ago,” says Childline (Kochi) coordinator Nirish Antony. The statistics available with the Kerala police show that the district with 207 cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, stands third in terms of the number of child sexual abuse cases registered in 2016. Of the 2,093 cases registered during the year, Thiruvanathapuram tops the list with 246 while Malappuram stands second with 241 cases. A senior officer with the Kochi city police says there might still be cases that go unreported. In some cases, the police find it tough to convince the guardians of the child victim to file a police complaint.

Stay updated with all the Latest Kochi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.