In Kerala, known for its high degree of social emancipation and hundred per cent literacy achieved several years ago, two children become rape victims everyday on an average, if official statistics are to be believed. Also, the number of rapes committed on children in a year in the State has more than trebled over the past four years.
Statistics on the overall sexual crimes committed also show that God’s Own Country has become the Devil’s Own Smithy as far as safety of women and children is concerned. There has been a huge increase in cases of rape on women in the past four years and cases of molestation have almost doubled since 2010.
As per statistics available with the Kerala State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), the number of child rape cases recorded in the State was 215. In 2010, 208 children were raped in Kerala but this number grew to the stunning level of 709 last year. It is already obvious the picture will be still worse for the current year as 238 cases of child rape had been recorded till April.
The SCRB data shows that there has been a gradual but rapid increase in the number of sexual offences against women in Kerala. As many as 548 women had become victims of rape in 2008 but this number grew to 617 in 2010 which further went up to 1,283 last year.
A similar spurt can be seen in the number of cases of molestation in Kerala which rose from 2,756 in 2008 to 4,357 in 2014. Interestingly, the State’s capital district, Thiruvananthapuram, has also remained the capital of crimes against women. Of the 1,283 rape cases reported in 2014, 176 took place in Thiruvananthapuram, well ahead of the other 13 districts.
As per one report, 2,923 cases had been registered in Kerala between January, 2013 and May last under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) 2012, proving that more than 1,000 children are becoming victims of some form of sexual atrocity. Social activists say if the unreported incidents are also considered, this number could become mindboggling.
The Department of Education had issued circulars making it mandatory for authorities of the educational institutions to report to the police on incidents of sexual atrocities against children.
“More than that, the trend is pointing towards a very dangerous psychological trap the Kerala males have fallen into,” says BS Panicker, a psychologist-journalist. Some sort of sexual cowardice has crept into the minds of a large number of Kerala males, especially those are connected directly or indirectly to life in exile, he says.