In Gujarat, minor boys are soft targets

In Gujarat, sexual abuse and rape cases of minors are on the rise. According to available data, Ahmedabad recorded 154 cases under the POCSO Act in 2017, of which 42 were rape cases.

In 2016, 149 cases were registered under the POCSO Act, of which 47 were cases of rape. In many cases, minor boys proved to be a soft target for the accused, with the accused known to the victim in most of the cases.

Senior police officials say that this rise can attributed to the fact that more and more victims are coming forward to register cases. Smita Ghosh, a psychologist said, "We always inform girls about their puberty and warn them about the 'good and bad touches' but we never educate the boys. So at that age, they don't know much about these things and are not aware of it. Moreover, the perpetrators also count on the fact that it is considered shameful for boys to speak out about rape or assault because the society reacts differently to it."