A wave of sex-related crimes by juveniles and adolescents sweeping the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh (pop. 166 million) and reported in lurid detail in the media, has shaken the academic community in Lucknow and has even aroused the state’s somnambulistic constabulary. Suddenly there’s widespread awareness in UP’s capital Lucknow even if not in the rural hinterland, that the city tops a list of infamy for the rape and murder of children.
In 2009, of the total 346 cases that came before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Lucknow, which has jurisdiction over Rae Bareli and Barabanki districts besides the state capital, 35 were of rape and 20 of murder. This year, about 140 cases have been filed before JJB thus far, of which 24 are of rape and 12 of murder.
Hitherto, most juvenile delinquency cases filed were of theft, chain snatching, etc. But in the past few years, there has been a marked increase in heinous crimes of rape and murder. The accused in rape cases are mostly in the 15-18 years age group and are from all sections of society. The victims are mostly very young or adolescent girls. Lucknow-based social activist Nandini Borkar fears that what is reported is just the tip of the iceberg. “Only a very small percentage of sex crimes are reported. The actual number is far greater,” she says.
According to Lucknow University-based sociologist Vinod Chandra, adolescents are bombarded with images of sex and violence in popular cinema and on television even as traditional control mechanisms of society are failing as joint family units are collapsing, and in nuclear households both parents work. “In the absence of proper guidance, adolescents pick up violent behavioural aspects of sex from films, television, peer groups and internet porn sites,” says Chandra.
The consensus of informed opinion is that the antidote to deviant sexual behaviour is sex education, a subject which is taboo in UP’s education estab-lishment. “Sex education in schools isn’t about how to indulge in sex, but about how to control the raging hormones of youth and develop healthy relationships between the sexes,” says Chandra.
Adds psychologist Dr. Manju Agarwal: “While sex is a natural, biological urge, parents and teachers need to educate adolescents about risk factors, the advantages of delayed gratification and the norms of healthy relationships. Unfortunately as parents become busier they substitute more time with children, with ‘quality’ time and assuage their guilt by giving in to all their demands. Sex crimes are a reflection of parental neglect. Even in consensual teenage sex, it has been found that half-baked information results in unwanted pregnancies and/or sexually transmitted diseases.”
Lucknow’s DIG Police Rajiv Krishna is also worried about the juvenile sex crime wave. “Though juvenile crime is relatively low, it has increased alarmingly in recent years. This is a dangerous trend and a warning for the future,” he says.
According to the National Crimes Record Bureau, there was a 7.6 percent increase in the incidence of crime against children in 2007 over 2006. Cases of child rape increased by 6.9 percent in 2007 (5,045) over 2006 (4,721). A total of 6,377 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children were reported during the year 2007 as compared to 5,102 cases in the previous year, a significant increase of 25 percent. Against this the conviction rate at the national level for crimes against children was a mere 36.6 percent.
In India’s most populous Hindi heartland state securing the safety of children — let alone the larger issue of securing children’s rights — is emerging as a major problem.
Vidya Pandit (Lucknow)