New Delhi, December 26: According to 2018-19 data from Childline, an emergency number for children in distress, Kerala has recorded the highest number of sexual abuse cases, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.  Kerala recorded the maximum of 1,742 cases and Maharastra witnessed 445 cases of child abuse in 2018-19 period.

Times of India reports that in the above mentioned period, more than 60,000 cases of sexual abuse were reported across India. Topping the charts among the crimes was child marriages, constituting 37 percent, followed by physical abuse (27 percent), sexual abuse (13 percent), emotional abuse (12 percent) and corporal punishment (4 percent). Child Pornography: Government Takes Down 377 Websites Promoting Child Sexual Abuse, 50 FIRs Registered.

The top five districts that received the highest number of child abuse complaints were all from Kerala. According to a November report, the Narendra Modi government had taken down 377 child pornography websites, and First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed against the people promoting such content.

There has been a tremendous increase in crimes against children irrespective of their gender across the country. Over the last one month, itself shocking cases have come up, from a man strangulating his minor niece for soiling her clothes to a father raping her daughter repeatedly, these incidents make our heads hang in shame.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2019 08:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).