Maneka bats for compensation for male victims of sexual abuse
(Sourced from PTI)
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today proposed an amendment of an existing "scheme" for boys, who have been raped or sexually exploited, to be compensated on the lines of a similar law for girls. She also announced a study on male survivors of child sexual abuse, a first-of-its-kind study exclusively for males. She said this in response to a petition on Change.org.
"Another much-neglected sphere of child sexual abuse is male survivors. Child sexual abuse is gender neutral," said Maneka in response to filmmaker Insia Dariwala's petition on male child sexual abuse. "Boys who're sexually abused as children spend a lifetime of silence because of the stigma and shame attached to male survivors speaking out. It's a serious problem and needs to be addressed," she said.
Maneka said that she had instructed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in September 2017, to look into the issue of male survivors. "As per recommendations that emerged, it was unanimously decided that there should be an amendment in the existing scheme for victims of CSA, to also include compensation for boys who have been sexually abused or raped," she said.
During the conference, the NCPCR studied a preliminary research conducted by Dariwala with 160 male survivors of sexual abuse from across the country, which revealed a possible correlation between unresolved sexual trauma on boys, and increasing violence on women and children.
"Based on this study, the NCPCR has decided to invite filmmaker Insia, with due support from Adrian Philips of Justice and Care, to conduct a larger study on male survivors of child sexual abuse, starting with Observation Homes, and Special Needs Homes," Maneka said.
