Crimes against children increased in India by 16.2% between 2020 and 2021, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. There were just under 1.5 lakh cases of crimes against children registered last year across all states and Union Territories. This includes child sexual abuse, abduction, murder, child marriage among other crimes. The total crime rate went up from 28.9% in 2020 to 33.6% in 2021. (The crime rate is the number of incidences of crime registered per lakh population.)
Madhya Pradesh registered the maximum number of crimes against children, with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in the second and third places. Nagaland registered the lowest number of crimes against children; the numbers were low in all the north-eastern states. Among the Union Territories, Delhi recorded the highest number of crimes against children (7,118). In south India, Karnataka had the highest number of crimes against children at 7,261 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (6,064), Telangana (5,667), Kerala (4,536) and Andhra Pradesh (2,669).
The report noted that in percentage terms, major crime heads under ‘Crime Against Children’ during 2020 were Kidnapping & Abduction (45.0%) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 (38.1%), including child rape.
There are distinctive definitions of ‘child’ and ‘minor’ in accordance with different Indian laws. Under POCSO, which refers to a ‘child’ as any person under the age of 18 years, a total of 53,874 incidents were reported in the country in 2021, compared to 47,221 in 2020. In 2021, of the 33,348 incidents registered under Sections 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act (punishment for penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 33,036 involved girls and 312 involved boys.
Under Kidnapping and Abduction, 67,245 FIRs were registered – but in this case, a minor is defined as anyone under the age of 16. This is in comparison to 54,785 FIRs registered in 2020.
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Total crimes registered under POCSO in the five southern states.
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Total Crimes registered under Kidnapping & Abduction in five southern states.
Five states with highest number of recorded incidents of crime against children, according to 2021 NCRB data.
Five states with lowest number of recorded incidents of crime against children, according to 2021 NCRB data.
In incidents pertaining to Kidnapping and Abduction of Children, 12,202 cases were registered under Minor Girls being compelled for marriage (Section 366, IPC). Among the southern states, Telangana recorded 299 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu, which recorded 144 cases.
India also recorded a total of 28,756 incidents of missing children being deemed as kidnapped.
Other crimes recorded against children in five southern states in 2021.