Horribly shocking and shameful incidents of sexual violence against female children of young ages as well as adolescent and teenage girls are being reported on almost a daily basis. While such reports are quite frequent from slums of Delhi, now such incidents are being reported even from remote villages located in the hills of Himachal Pradesh which were widely believed to be free from this menace till only a few years ago.

It is believed that the number of reported cases is still only a relatively small percentage of the actual incidents. Available statistics indicate that in a majority of cases, the culprit was known to the victim. While in some cases the culprit is a neighbor or other acquaintance, in several cases the culprit has been found to be a relative or even a family member. In the process the most trusting relationships have been violated and this is perhaps the most disturbing aspect.

Once such incidents take place, the main focus is on identifying the culprits and taking suitable action against them. Of course this is important but providing proper emotional and medical care to the victim is just as important as she suffers not just physical but also severe mental and emotional harm. Many victims are from weaker sections and so it is all the more important to ensure they get treatment and counseling.

In such incidents the focus of the authorities is more on fulfilling legal requirements than on preventive aspects. As deep distress and trauma are associated with such assaults, the most important aspect is to try and prevent as many of these tragedies as possible. There is a need to examine the emerging pattern of such crimes and its causes and then take suitable remedial action.

One factor that is responsible for this disturbing trend is the easy access to disturbing forms of pornography. Most worrying in the present context are three types of porn – child porn, incest porn and porn depicting violent and forced sex. In Japan in the relatively early stages of the porn boom, a national survey was conducted in which culprits of sexual violence were asked whether while watching porn they had wanted to do something similar.

Nearly 33 per cent offenders answered in the affirmative; in the case of juvenile offenders nearly 50 per cent did so. This shows the disturbing extent to which some persons may be instigated towards sexual violence by certain types of pornography.

The way of looking at all females may get highly sexual and old inhibitions or concerns for social norms or relationships of trust may be rudely pushed away. Such high-risk attitudes will make perpetrators search for victims and girl children of various age groups, making them vulnerable.

The chances of this increase when many people are forced to live in one-room houses with hardly any privacy or sanitation facilities. Secondly, at a time when sexual norms and behavior are being changed because of easy access to pornography and other factors, hardly any efforts are being made to check resulting problems through suitable interventions.

Even otherwise, efforts are needed for education and training for proper gender relationships. But the need is much greater now due to fast changing perceptions of sexuality.

Due to the absence of education and training in educational institutions, the increasing exposure to pornography and sexually promiscuous behavior is resulting in situations where young males increasingly use violence and force, individually or as a group.

The absence of proper gender relations results in many youths refusing to accept a refusal from any girl. This increases chances of various kinds of violence against girls. Infatuation is confused with love. The girl to whom great love is declared is immediately threatened with violence if she says no.

Thirdly there are many kinds of organised criminal activities which regularly seek to lure, blackmail, kidnap or force girls for many kinds of forced sexual activities, ranging from prostitution to the making of pornographic videos. There are men in criminalised and semi-criminalised gangs, often having access to patronage by the powerful, who are looking for victims.

Thus due to a number of factors the girl children of various ages including teenagers are becoming more vulnerable to sexual violence and abuse.

It is only by a comprehensive understanding of this distressing problem that we can move towards taking a number of short and long-term actions that will reduce this distress.

(The writer is a freelance journalist who has been involved with various social movements and initiatives.)