Relevance: mains: G.S paper I: Social issues & Sociology Paper II
Introduction
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is one of the most common yet underreported forms of violence against children prevalent across the globe (Pellai & Caranzano,). In the year 2009, Pereda, Guilera, Forns & Gomez-Benito, conducted a worldwide study among the students and community to find the prevalence of child sexual abuse. The analysis of the available data from 22 countries revealed that CSA is a serious problem worldwide. The retrospective data suggested that almost 7.9 percent of men and 19.7 percent of women have suffered some form of sexual abuse before the age of eighteen. Widely underreported, the phenomenon of CSA has global prevalence irrespective of socioeconomic diversity amongst different nations. Millions of children are subject to varying forms of sexual abuse every year without coming into the preview of the criminal justice system.
What is Sexual Abuse?
According to World Health Organization’s Violence and Health in the WHO African Region Report (2010), ‘sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in any kind of sexual liaison that he/she is unable to comprehend fully, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the laws or social taboos of society’. Broadly, sexual abuse is classified into four categories: non-contact, non-penetrative contact, penetrative contact, and internet-based sexual abuse. Non-contact sexual abuse includes any verbal or non-verbal references to sexual matters such as implicit or explicit invitations for sexual liaisons, being exposed to genitals, sexual acts, or sexually explicit materials, or being asked to reveal own genitals to someone else. Non-penetrative contact abuse comprises of being kissed or fondled sexually, caressing others’ genitals or masturbating someone else or watching somebody masturbate, while attempting intercourse, oral intercourse, anal intercourse, and genital intercourse come under the preview of penetrative contact abuse (Elklit,).
Child Sexual Abuse in India
India has the world’s most significant number of CSA cases every year. One out of every ten children is a victim of CSA in India at any given point of time (Virani, 2000). Behere et al. (2013) found that every second child is prone to one or the other forms of sexual abuse such as eve-teasing, molestation, sexual violence, etc. and every fifth child faces critical forms of CSA in the country. According to the Childline India (2014), every 155th minute a child less than 16 years of age is raped, for every 13th hour child below 10, and one in every ten children is a victim of CSA.
Tata Institute of Social Sciences undertook the first ever study on child sexual abuse in Mumbai in 1985. The results of the survey revealed that one out of three girls and one out of every ten boys had been victims of CSA and half of these abuses happened at home.
In the year 1998, Recovery and Healing from Incest (RAHI) conducted a nationwide survey among 600 English speaking middle and upper-class women to find the prevalence of CSA. Around 76 percent of these women revealed being sexually abused in their childhood.
The Tulir-Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse (CPHCSA) also carried out a large-scale survey to find the prevalence of CSA among 2211 school going children in Chennai in the year 2006. The study revealed that, irrespective of their socioeconomic backgrounds, around 42 percent of the children had been sexually abused.
The first ever government sponsored research assessing the extent and gravity of child sexual abuse in the country was carried out in the year 2007 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
Sadly, half of the sexual violations were committed by the persons known to the child or caregivers responsible for their growth and well-being (Kacker, Baradan, & Kumar, 2007). The results of the studies further highlighted the absence of child-specific legislations to check child abuse in the country impinging on the need for specific legislation to deal with CSA in the country.
Risk Factors to Child Sexual Abuse
Geography, Race and Ethnicity
It is commonly believed that the prevalence of CSA is higher in the urban areas; however, Matiyani (2011) and Patel & Andrew (2001) suggest that the prevalence of CSA is similar in rural and urban settings but the reporting of CSA is higher in urban areas.
Similarly, in other contexts ethnicity is also found to be associated with the prevalence of child sexual abuse (Meinck, Cluver, Boyes, & Mhlongo, 2015), however, in the Indian context sporadic studies assert that race and ethnicity do not seem to be risk factors.
Economic Factors
Poverty may not directly stimulate abuse. However, overcrowding may facilitate sexual abuse due to the necessity of co-sleeping and lack of privacy.
Familial Factors
The size and the structure of the family are essential indicators of sexual abuse victimisation. Children from larger families or living in extended households are quite vulnerable as parents may be unable to spare more time for each child (Matiyani, 2011). Similarly, children from single parent or divorced partners are particularly susceptible (ibid).Further, children from dysfunctional families or poor parent-child relationship are quite vulnerable to sexual abuse victimisation. Educational status of the mother is also found to influence the prevalence of CSA.
Gender
Research suggests females are exposed to sexual abuse more often than males (Pal et al., 2018; Singh, 2009). However, others argue that sexual abuse of male victims is under-reported (Carson et al; Kacker et al; Patel & Andrew). Social stigma, including the fear of being labeled as gay, as well as issues related to victimisation and masculinity, may make it difficult for boys to seek help (GHPSPHS).
Individual Factors
Certain categories of children are found to be susceptible to CSA such as emotionally insecure children, children lacking strong support from the parents and caregivers, and so on (Saul & Audage). Sexual victimisation is also associated with child hyperactivity, child disability, and wasting (Seth; Virani,). CSA is quite common among mentally challenged or deaf and dumb children as they are unable to vocalise their dissent, or, disclosure to others is less likely.
Social Factors
Research suggests that a particular social structure facilitates abuse implicitly. At the societal level, low recognition of the child’s rights, patriarchy, and prevalence of violence, discrimination and weak social norms also perpetuate child sexual abuse (Minto, Hornsey, Gillespie, Healy, & Jetten,).
Outcomes of Child Sexual Abuse
- Some of the common physical outcomes of CSA include, but are not limited to, pain, discoloration, sores, cuts, bleeding or discharges in the genitals, anus or mouth, persistent or recurring pain during urination and bowel movements, gynaecologic conditions, gastrointestinal problems, and so on.
- For many children wetting and soiling accidents are the allusive outcome of CSA (GHPPHS; Seth,).
- CSA is also associated with subsequent sexual victimisation, unwanted pregnancy and HIV transmission (Meinck et al., Further, CSA also results in a range of long-term adverse sexual outcomes for the victims such as sexual inhibition, sexual avoidance or aversion, and vaginal or pelvic pain to sexual dis-inhibition, compulsive or impulsive sex, risk-taking sexual behaviours, and numerous sequential or simultaneous sexual partners.
- The experiences of CSA lead to multiple adverse outcomes for children, paralysing the victims’ minds more than their bodies (Berkowitz; Cromer & Goldsmith; Elklit; Johnson; Matiyani).
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, delinquency, academic difficulties, low self-esteem, withdrawal, conduct disorders, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and personality disorders are not uncommon among the victims.
- Victims of CSA may experience avoidance, dissociation or denial which could have initially developed as adaptations to the abuse.
- The outcomes of incest or abuse perpetrated by close kin are more devastating as victims may find it difficult to trust others in their social network forever which in turn jeopardizes their recovery post abuse.
- The experience of CSA is often emotionally paralysing for the victims and many victims fail to recover throughout their life.
Perpetrator Characteristics
- Popular literature indicates that sexual abuse is more prevalent than was once believed and that the perpetrators are usually unknown to the victims (Segal 1992; Virani 2001). Underreporting of incest or molestation by parents/relatives is quite common.
- Research further suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the perpetrator could be a female as well as male (Behere et al; Matiyani).
- The perpetrator and the victim may be of the same sex or opposite sex (Behere et al.,). Further, perpetrators may be single individuals or may act in compliance with other individuals, familial or non-familial.
- Regarding age span, it is difficult to detach the specific age group for CSA perpetrators, as the perpetrators have been found to belong to pre-teens up to elderly individuals.
- Many CSA cases involve teenagers as perpetrators.
- Both married as well as single individuals have been found to be complicit in CSA.
- Besides, the perpetrators could be reputed or trusted caretakers, such as parents, priests, aid workers, hospital workers, and educators (Matiyani, 2011).
- Matiyani, further suggests that alcoholism is often associated with sexual abuse offenses.
- Most common tactics employed by perpetrators include befriending children, seducing, or luring with gifts. Etc.