SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

5.0 COUNTRY PROFILE: INDIA
5.1 Research Findings
5.1.1 Country background
The immense diversity of India, the world’s most populous democracy, makes it difficult to
generalize about factors that contribute to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Moreover, as some of the data from which this section has been prepared are several years
old, the findings should be interpreted with caution given that the country is undergoing
profound social and economic transition that likely has an impact on the phenomenon of
sexual abuse and exploitation of boys. Furthermore, India’s many states encompass diverse
natural environments, economic resources, ethnicities and customs, as well as varying levels
of education, child labour, poverty and government efficiency and integrity. India in essence
encompasses many ‘countries’, each with unique social and economic characteristics that
affect the protection and vulnerability of its children.
The differing degrees of child protection and vulnerability in various parts of India shape the
forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation for the country as a whole. For example, varying
levels of family poverty, among other factors, influence the migration of boys. The percentage
of population living below the poverty line in 1999/2000 ranged from 27 per cent in West
Bengal to 43 per cent in neighbouring Bihar, and from 4.5 per cent in Goa to 25 per cent in
neighbouring Maharashtra. 209 These disparities have led many boys to migrate between states,
so many Bihari boys are working and living on the streets in Kolkata, West Bengal, 210 and
many Maharashtran boys migrate to Goa to work in construction. In the State of Goa and
Kerala, a study found that many of these migrating boys end up being sexually exploited
through prostitution by travelling sex offenders. 211
Overall, India shares with the rest of South Asia challenges that contribute to boys’
vulnerability to abuse and exploitation: rural to urban migration, lack of employment
opportunities, extensive child labour and the prevalence of bonded labour in many parts of the
country. While India has proportionately less foreign migration of parents for labour than
other countries of South Asia, many families are affected by extensive migration of fathers
and other male caregivers from the countryside to the cities in search of employment.
5.1.2 Knowledge base
The knowledge base on the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys in India is not substantial.
There have been several studies of street children, boy dance performers and boy prostitutes
within the last few years, and though the data are reliable and remain current, they are limited
209
National Human Rights Commission, UNIFEM and Institute of Social Sciences, 2004, ‘A report on
trafficking in women and children in India 2002-2003’.
210
Groupe Developpement, 2006, ‘Survival strategies: A study of children living on streets and railway
platforms of West Bengal and Bangladesh’.
211
Equations and ECPAT International, 2003, ‘A situational analysis of child sex tourism in India (Kerala and
Goa)’.
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