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

6.1.2 Knowledge base
The knowledge base on the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys in the urban areas of Nepal
is relatively comprehensive, and as in other countries of South Asia, almost absent for rural
areas of the country. Several studies (discussed below) on street children and boy prostitution
in urban areas have been recently conducted using sound methodologies, and thus the
knowledge base in these areas is, if not immense, current and reliable. Data on family- and
community-based sexual abuse of boys or girls, with the exception of some case studies,
newspaper reports and contact centre reports, are lacking. As well, research is lacking on
social mores and sexuality in rural areas, including among the myriad castes and ethnicities.
Little is known about the situation of boys in child labour, either in rural or urban areas,
beyond basic survey data on age, form of labour, etc. Linkages of boys’ labour to abuse and
exploitation have not been explored.
As with India, until recently almost all research focused on the trafficking of girls and women
for prostitution. Two studies on the trafficking and abuse of boys were conducted in 2002
(referred to below), but were not of sufficient methodological rigour to be entirely
dependable. The quality of research on abuse and exploitation in Nepal has until recently
been conducted primarily by NGOs, and it may be judged to have been relatively weak in
technical terms. Almost all has been semi-quantitative, that is, using survey methodologies on
small populations, resulting in neither solid quantitative nor qualitative outputs. Substantive
qualitative research on boys undergoing sexual abuse or sexual exploitation remains to be
conducted. In addition, Nepal has recently undergone a decade of civil conflict, and remains
in a state of weak governance and rule of law, coupled with rapid rural to urban migration and
the rapid growth of urban slums. Social disorder in Nepal has doubtless had considerable
impact on the abuse and exploitation of boys, and current research is greatly needed to
understand the present situation
6.1.3 Sexual abuse of boys
Studies have shown a high prevalence of different forms of sexual abuse in urban and semiurban
areas in Nepal; the research is insufficient to ascertain the prevalence in rural areas.
From the limited data available, it appears that abuse of boys is more prevalent in urban areas,
while abuse of girls is more prevalent in rural areas. 261
In a 2005 study of 3,960 boys and girls (both in and out of school) conducted by CWIN, 262
almost 8 per cent of the boys and 10.5 per cent of the girls reported serious contact forms of
abuse, including oral sex and penetration. Molestation (touching or fondling over or under the
clothes) was reported by more girls than boys (22 per cent versus 13.5 per cent). As expected,
children living on the street and in slums experienced a higher incidence of abuse than others.
Children aged 13 to 15 were far more likely to be sexually abused than older or younger
children. The data on age and abuse prevalence were not disaggregated by sex.
261 Child Workers in Nepal and UNICEF, 2005, ‘Violence against children in Nepal: Child sexual abuse in
Nepal: Children’s perspectives’.
262 Ibid.
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