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

A 2008 study of sexual abuse of children of the street in Kathmandu showed that more than
one-fifth, almost all boys, had been abused through oral sex or penetration. 263 This study of
150 children reported the most frequent perpetrators were peers, junkyard owners and local
people.
Boys reported that abuse most often occurred in cinemas, parks or the perpetrator’s house,
while girls reported abuse most often occurring in the home, marketplace or school. Both
boys and girls reported extensive molestation in cinemas. The primary method of coercion for
boys was monetary bribes or other enticement, while girls more often mentioned the use of
physical force.
Perpetrators of sexual abuse on boys were primarily friends, strangers or neighbours, and only
6 per cent of such abuse was perpetrated by family members. Notably, 40 per cent of the boys
who reported abuse stated that women were among the perpetrators, and more than one-third
of the boys stated that their abusers included other children under 16 years old. 264 In the 2008
study, two-fifths had been abused by other people living on the street, two-fifths by local
persons and one-fifth by foreigners. On average, it is notable that approximately 20 per cent
of reported abusers of children living on the street were women, predominantly local women.
Half of the boys who reported genital fondling reported female abusers. Those who reported
receiving oral sex from abusers reported women as frequently as men. One-fifth of those
reporting penetration by any means reported female abusers. 265
Data on sexual abuse in schools in Nepal are lacking. The CWIN 2005 study found that
approximately 12.5 per cent of boys who reported molestation identified schools as one place
of abuse, and one-fifth of those who reported genital fondling or oral or penetrative sex
included schools among the places of abuse. However, this study did not disaggregate the
specific forms of abuse by location of the abuse and did not clarify the incidence of abuse by
teachers/staff versus other students.
There are no formal data covering sexual abuse in boarding homes, night shelters or other
residential care facilities for boys. Similarly, data regarding sexual abuse of boys in the
workplace are lacking. In the CWIN 2005 study, 10 per cent of boys included “place related
to domestic or other work” among the places of both molestation and contact forms of abuse.
However, as many of the respondents were school-going children, this does not give a clear
indication of abuse prevalence in the workplace. Although informal reports showed some
incidence of rape and sexual abuse of girls and women during the conflict, by both
government and Maoist soldiers, the incidence of sexual abuse of boys has not been recorded.
6.1.4 Sexual exploitation in pornography
Of the children studied by CWIN, more than one-quarter had been exposed to pornographic
materials, primarily through magazines or movies. Of these children, more than one-third of
263
Child Protection Centers and Services and Voice of Children, 2008, ‘The abuse of street children in
Kathmandu’.
264
Child Workers in Nepal and UNICEF, 2005, op.cit.
265
Child Protection Centers and Services and Voice of Children, 2008, op.cit.
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