Keypoints:
- Nearly 50 per cent of the cases, minors were lured into meeting people via online contact.
- The NCRB report found that cases of abuse of minors are growing in Maharashtra, up from 2,398 cases in 2017 to 2,944 cases in 2018, and 3,161 cases in 2019.
- The most vulnerable underage persons are between 16 and 18 years old, followed by 12-16 years, 6-12 years and then even those aged below six years.
During 2017-2019, maximum number of cases were registered in Maharashtra under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO). Approximately 8,503, in nearly 50 per cent of the minors were lured online into meeting people with the promise of marriage but then subjected them to sexual abuse or sexual relationships.
In law, maintaining a physical relationship with someone below the age of consent is statutory rape.
The NCRB report found that cases of abuse of minors are growing in Maharashtra, up from 2,398 cases in 2017 to 2,944 cases in 2018, and 3,161 cases in 2019. This report classifies the offenders based on their relationship with the victim.
Most of the offenders were said to be “online friends”, though the report also uncovered incidents wherein minors aren’t safe from their own neighbourhood, friends, or even family members.
“Minors become friends with strangers online, and get manipulated. A potential offender collects details about such minors by first gaining their confidence through activities such as sharing video games. What starts seemingly innocuously gradually escalates to blackmail, to cases of sextortion,” said joint commissioner of police Yashasvi Yadav.
“We have started Operation Blackface to tackle child pornography and have also tied up with the Interpol, our latest operation being Trail List to track child pornography offenders”, Yadav added.
On the list of overall states, Maharashtra tops the list followed by UP with 6,978 cases, MP (5,348), Karnataka (4,339) and Gujarat (4,228). The three-year data was released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2019 being the last year for which NCRB statistics are available.
The most vulnerable underage persons are between 16 and 18 years old, followed by 12-16 years, 6-12 years and then even those aged below six years.
Based on open-source research on the issue of ‘Online Child Abuse and Exploitation’ a study from United Nations office has shown that the low prices of gadgets and the easy availability of high-speed internet has given sex offenders unprecedented access to online communities, where they perpetrate abusive and exploitative behaviour. The study found that one of the greatest gaps in fighting online child abuse is a lack of skilled and dedicated personnel among law enforcement agencies in key investigative areas.
