THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The father or step father was involved in 61 of the 530 child abuse cases taken up under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) during 2015 and 2016 in the state. The father's role has not only made the victim's re-integration into the family virtually impossible but has also made evidence collection difficult. “Fear or shame or financial dependence, or a combination of all these, makes mothers of children abused by the father reluctant to cooperate with the investigation process,” said P. E. Usha, the state project director of Mahila Samakhya, which runs eight Nirbhaya homes for sexual abuse victims.
For instance, it is mandatory to get the permission of the mother before conducting the medical examination of a victim less than seven years. “We had a case where the mother of a six-year-old girl abused by her father refused permission for the medical examination,” Ms Usha said while speaking at a seminar on ‘Domestic Violence and its Impact on Children’ here on Tuesday. According to Usha even this refusal should be held as evidence against the accused. “But the prosecution is not inclined that way,” she said. The Judicial system, too, does not seem fully sensitised to the concerns of a child abused by her closest relatives. In many cases, the intimations or notices issued by the court to the victim are sent directly to the violator, the father. The culprits are not stripped of their parental rights.
It has also been found that once the victim points fingers at her closest relatives – father, step father, brother, uncles – she is abandoned by the family. There have been instances where the family of the victim had decided to sell their ancestral property to defend the accused relative. “In one case, where the girl was abused by her brother, the family decided to sell their property to get legal aid for their son. We came to know of it when the prospective buyer called us to ask whether the girl would have any rights over the ancestral land in future,” Ms Usha said.
In another case, 14-year-old girl was admitted to a mental hospital by her father who raped her. The objective was to somehow twist the case. She was later lodged in one of the Nirbhaya homes. After she passed her 10th standard with high marks, the girl expressed her desire to return to her home. But at home, an uncle of hers approached her and said: “Since you had slept with your father, I don’t think you will have a problem with me, too.” “She attempted suicide but was saved in time by the police,” Usha said.
