The lockdown followed by the global pandemic has proven to be both a boon and a bane for some children. Many children who couldn’t spend enough quality time with their families earlier can enjoy it thoroughly now. But for some, this lockdown happened to be more of a dreadful tribulation.
There has been a substantial increase in the sexual abuse of children. On one hand, the economy and employment rate are declining whereas the business of child pornography is thriving on the other.
Child Pornography In India
Child pornography in India topped the search engine. There was a 95% increase between March 24, 2020, and March 26, 2020. This has given a severe rise to child pornography crisis in India. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) showed their concerns regarding the same.
According to a recent survey, 109 children are victim to sexual abuse daily in India. Children are abducted and filmed forcefully for child pornography.
Child Pornography, A Colloquial Term
Once upon a time, the word porn used to be said in hush tones. People used to feel ashamed of consuming such explicit content. But in the 21st century, where there are thousands of unreasonable and illogical taboos, child porn has become a colloquial term.
Mecca For Pedophiles
Paedophile and paedophilia are on the move. Paedophiles have taken their interests online. All these porn websites are a major source of providing them with the satisfaction they get from child porn. They are the overriding factor behind the production of child pornography content.
Faux Coax
Many sexual predators befriend children through various social media platforms. They persuade children to send them their photos and videos which they would require to groom them. Children, out of innocence, don’t understand these dirty tactics and are easily tempted to do so.
Indian Cities Breaking Records On the Internet
Over 100 cities in India searched for children pornography bringing it to the topmost searched things on the internet. Cities like New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar and Indore made it to the prime. Among these New Delhi had the highest number of searches. The highest searches were of terms like- ‘sexy child’, ‘child porn’ and ‘teen sex videos’.
Explicit But Not So Exclusive
The India Child Protection Fund advised the concerned committees to control the propaganda of obscene content on different social media platforms like Twitter. The eligible age for joining twitter is 13 years. Therefore, a 13-year-old child has very easy access to child porn content through twitter, where many child pornography links are shared.
Child Porn Search In IndiaAvailable On Google Play Store
There are certain apps which provide porn content to its users. All these apps are free of cost and can be easily downloaded from the Google play store. These apps guarantee its users to maintain their privacy.
WhatsApp Encrypted Child Porn Groups
There are several links available on social media which would directly add people to WhatsApp encrypted groups. These groups share X-rated photos and videos among the members. The highest demand is of child pornography in this type of groups.
Increase In CHILDLINE SOS Calls
The increase in child pornography content has simultaneously increased the number of sexual predators out there. This means that there is an increase in the number of child abuse cases.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the CHILDLINE, a helpline call service for children, received thousands of calls.
Molested By A Mole In The Family
What is even worse is that almost 90% of the victims were a part of Intrafamilial abuse. In this type of case, victims are abused by their family members or someone close who is considered as a part of the family. Studies showed that almost every child, before reaching the age of 18, has experienced sexual child abuse. The ratio of girls being molested was way more than the ratio of boys.
Psychological Impact
These victims are scarred for life. The traumatic experience is engraved deep down in their brains. Children lose their confidence and constantly blame themselves for the abuse. They constantly have self-doubts. They become unable to rely on anyone and have difficulty trusting anyone.
Impact On Health
The magnitude of consequences does not stop at psychological problems. Child sexual abuse comes with a lot of health problems also. Many times a person may develop a negative outlook for their lives. They don’t feel worthy enough.
This leads to the resort of drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. This sudden and unfortunate change in mental health further graves to health issues. Anxiety attacks, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue and change in sleeping and eating patterns are the most common problems faced by the victims.
Uncomfortable To Talk About
Oftentimes, these poor children are shushed by their families. They are told to not talk about it and simply forget it. This only makes the incident further excruciating and disturbing for them.
Child Porn Search In IndiaViolent Material Demand
The search for child pornography was an average of five million in every city out of the 100. Most web searches were about requesting theme-based child porn content. As if child porn isn’t violent enough, there was also a great demand for violent and explicit videos. Videos which involved choking, bleeding and beating.
Violation Of Supreme Court Laws
Most of the porn websites play hide and seek with the government. They simply keep changing their URLs. This is a violation of the laws laid out by the Supreme Court of India.
Besides, many people change their VPN codes to circulate these types of explicit content. The user base is in India demanding child sexual abuse material included around 90% of men, 1% of women while rest were undistinguished.
Shield And Wield
Many laws and acts have been made in India to protect the children from any kind of abuse. However, many victims are unaware of their rights and are too afraid to speak. To help victims to put an end to their plight and miseries, many NGOs have come up. Numerous NGOs and some of the government organizations have joined hands to make this goal achievable.
Counselling For Children
No one can truly understand the trauma or the magnitude of pain a child goes through after sexual abuse. However, to ease the pain a little, a child can seek therapy. Child Sexual abuse is an alarming crisis in India. There are many qualified counsellors out there who are ready to help.
Also Read; Sex Education and Why India Needs It
