With influx of innumerable #MeToo stories over the last year, one thing became clear — sexual assault was not limited to any one industry, gender or sexuality. Sexual assault, however, also does not confine to a particular age.
According to a medico-legal analysis of around 900 cases of assault at B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, 60 percent were found to have been against children. The cases were counted A vast majority of victims were young teenage girls while a majority of assailants fell in the age bracket of 21-30. However, around one-third of the accused were teenagers aged 16-18.
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The study also found that in over 90 percent of the cases, the assailant was known to the victim, with the most common being the victim’s boyfriend. The oldest accused was 55 years old while the youngest aged 11. In three-fourths of the cases, genital injuries were reported.
While most victims belonged to the middle-class, cases of sexual assault were higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Though a majority of victims stayed with their parents, the most common place of assault were rented rooms, followed by assailant’s home and victim’s home. UNICEF estimates that around 120 million girls under the age of 20 (about 1 in 10) have been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point of their lives.
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Recently, a complaint was filed against Assamese singer Papon for ‘inappropriately kissing a minor girl’ who is a contestant on a reality TV show.
