Capital shame: 3 children raped every day in Delhi; experts blame mindset, porn

Citing the example of an 18-year-old offender, Juvenile Justice lawyer Anant Kumar Asthana explained how the offender regretted his actions but said pornography had left him with an urge he was unable to control.

Nearly three children are raped everyday in the national capital according to the latest data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). HT spoke to a cross section of policemen, child rights activists and juvenile justice lawyers who identified some of the causes — such as mindset and consumption of pornography — which leave children vulnerable to such crimes.

According to latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, 927 children were raped in the national capital in 2015, which boils down to 2.5 rapes per day. (Illustration: Aastha Mittal)

Bharati Ali, from HAQ Centre for Child Rights, said the root cause of high juvenile rape instances is the mindset of the people. She said more efforts need to be put into reforming people and changing their mindset.

Juvenile Justice lawyer Anant Kumar Asthana, who has dealt with many such cases in the past, said that what separates Delhi from less urbanised or rural areas is a huge migrant population with no community participation. This, he said, takes away the secondary safety net that a child has in villages or even small towns.

On recent rape trends, both said that consumption of pornography by offenders is also a major factor.

Citing the example of an 18-year-old offender, Asthana explained how the offender regretted his actions but said pornography had left him with an urge he was unable to control.

“It is not just about nuclear families. Many victims are from families where both parents go out to leaving them under the care and protection of neighbours, who usually are not as vigilant as one’s own parents would be. This gives an opportunity to those on the prowl to assault children,” said Asthana.

“Also, these numbers may just be a fraction of the overall numbers as reporting rapes is still a taboo. That is again an area where work is needed to educate people to come and report cases even more so that they themselves desist,” she said.

Wednesday’s incident where an 18-month-old was abducted and sexually assaulted by her 33-year-old neighbour in Aman Vihar serves as a gruesome reminder of the extent of the problem. Stakeholders said that despite efforts of government agencies, factors aiding such crimes — from poor conviction rates to lack of awareness and community support – continue to thrive as ever.