Tackling the tragedy of child abuse

We may not hear a lot about it, but that doesn’t mean it’s non-existent. Child abuse, both physical and sexual, is often swept under the carpet by parents, say experts 


The death of 17-month-old Baby P in the UK, sparked a flurry of front page stories in the British Press. They questioned current parenting trends, blamed social services and paediatricians for ignoring the problem, and then blamed modern society.

Of course, numbers were strewn through every story, each attempting to showcase the danger children are in, when it comes to abuse. In India, however, cases of child abuse often slip from the public domain into anonymity, due to the family’s reluctance to either file charges or put the case under the media spotlight. 

“We do get many cases of incest. Even though we largely work with sexual abuse cases, at times we also come across sexual abuse combined with physical abuse,” says Pooja Taparia, founder and CEO, Arpan, an organisation working in the area of child sexual abuse.

According to a 2007 report, released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, when it comes to cases of physical abuse inflicted on a child, 88.6 per cent of the victims are abused by their parents. Fifty per cent of children sexually abused, know their attacker.

“I get many instances of children being physically abused by parents. At times, parents step over the line when disciplining their children,” says psychiatrist, Seema Hingorrany. According to Hingorrany, physical and sexual abuse know no socio-economic barriers, and can be found in the homes of the affluent, as well as those living below the poverty line.

Renuka Chowdhary, minister of State for Women and Child Development, states that awareness of a child’s rights is poor. “Parents think, ‘This is my child, and I can do anything with my child’. How else can we explain honour killings?” She asks.

Chowdhary admits that the complexity of the issue means that there are no quick solutions, although the Ministry is working on it. The Ministry has set up a commission for the protection of child rights, as well as a National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development.

Indian law has no specific provisions to deal with child abuse, and this adds to the problem when it comes to prosecuting perpetrators of abuse. “We don’t strongly pursue a conclusion through legal channels, as it is not quick and invariably the child grows up as the case drags on,” says Taparia.

Sanjeev Ahuja, consultant paediatrician at Hiranandani Hospital, states that one of the reasons why doctors rarely come across signs of child abuse, is because “many cases go unreported”. “Also in the case of small children, we don’t get much feedback from the parents,” he says.

Ahuja cites a case wherein a three-month-old baby was hit by his uncle, who lived in the same house. “The baby was slapped hard and hit on the head by his uncle,” says Ahuja. Eventually, one of the grandparents revealed that the uncle was abusing the infant.

Ahuja states that when it comes to affluent families, many times it is the servants, drivers, or helpers that are abusing the child. According to him, the most common injuries suffered by children at the hands of their abuser are burns or impact with a blunt object. “We rarely come across head injuries,” he says.

Hingorrany had a case where the child was being beaten by both parents, who were going through a separation at the time: “They vent their frustration on their nine-year-old child by hitting him constantly. When brought for counselling, the child refused to speak for couple of hours. Another instance of abuse I saw was when a nine-year-old was being sexually abused by her stepfather, and her misery was compounded after her mother refused to believe her.”

Hingorrany states that when parents learn that their child is being abused physically, sexually, or emotionally, there is an element of shock, and denial.

When a child suffers abuse, it is usually accompanied by a feeling of guilt, states psychiatrist, Anshu Kulkarni. A child who has undergone any kind of abuse is likely to withdraw, cry constantly, and suffer at school.

“Indulgence in sexual play, talking about pornography, chronic headaches, stomach aches, depression and anxiety are also common symptoms,” says psychiatrist Anjali Chabria.

Some parents prefer to play ostrich in the hope that time will heals the wounds and the child will grow up forgetting the incident .
 
“Children never forget abuse,” says Taparia. “It’s just compartmentalised and locked away, but its impact can be felt all through the victim’s life.”
h_ansari@dnaindia.net