Crime against children up by 300% in recent years, says NCPCR chairperson

Stating that crimes against children in India have increased by almost 300% in a span of six years since 2009, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Stuti Kacker on Saturday said a multi-sectoral action plan is needed to combat child trafficking.

“The National Crime Record Bureau suggests that there is a rise in crime against children since 2009. The number of incidents rose from 24,203 in 2009 to 92,172 in 2015, resulting an increase of almost 300% in a span of six years,” Kacker said in a written statement read out in absentia at the ‘Anti-Human Trafficking’ conference here organised by Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre.

“The deeper analysis shows that in crime rate a substantial increase has taken place between 2009 and 2015 due to marriage of minor girls, kidnapping and abduction and selling of minors for prostitution,” she said.

Kacker also revealed that the number of trafficking victims among children have also significantly increased in recent years.

“NCRB data suggest that a total of 9,104 children were trafficked in 2015 which is a 27 percent increase over 2014. This includes both trafficking within the country and cross border trafficking. The estimate indicates that over 60 per cent of total human trafficking is of the children,” she said.

Kacker suggested an action plan in the country to address issues like poverty, unemployment and economic and gender disparity that are major reasons of any form of human trafficking.

“The causes of global child trafficking are varied and complex but it includes poverty, lack of opportunity, economic disparity, land demarcation, increased gender discrimination and discriminatory cultural practices,” she said.

“We need to protect our children from violence and crime to identify and close the gap that enables the traffickers a scope and formulate a multi sectoral action plan for combating child trafficking,” she added.