Nearly a quarter of the crimes against children that were reported under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2024 occurred in their own homes, according to the annual report of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for the 2024-25.
The vulnerability of children can be understood from the fact that 1,095 (24%) of the 4,607 offences took place in the houses of the survivors. As many as 634 (14%) of the incidents occurred in the houses of the offenders.
Twelve per cent of the offences took place in public spaces and an equal number in other places such as hostels, cyberspace, and houses of relatives of either survivors or offenders. As many as 3% of the offences occurred in schools (down from 4% in 2023), 2% in vehicles, isolated places, and hotels/lodges, and 1% in religious institutions (down from 2% last year) and in houses of friends. Significantly, details related to the offence have not been made available to the commission in 23% (1,054) of the cases.
Besides 15% (755) of the offenders who were ‘lovers,’ 16% (827) were persons known to survivors, 10% (511) were family members and an equal number were friends (517), 12% (594) were neighbours, and 8% (397) relatives. As many as 3% were teachers and 1% bus, van, or autorickshaw drivers.
There has been more than a four-fold increase in the number of cases registered under the POCSO Act in just over a decade. In 2013, 1,002 POCSO cases were reported, data provided by the State Crime Records Bureau to the child rights panel show. By 2024, this had increased to 4,607. This is slightly lower than the 4,663 POCSO cases reported in 2023.
Highest and lowest
The maximum number of cases were reported in Thiruvananthapuram district – 602. Malappuram district saw 506 POCSO cases reported in 2024. The lowest was in Kasaragod – 157.
In the 4,607 cases reported, there were 4,651 child survivors, indicating that there was more than one survivor in some instances. Nearly 85% of the 4,651 survivors were girls (3,969) and 14% boys (658). There were 5,044 accused in these cases, 93% of them being men and 3% women.
Fifty-three per cent of the survivors were in the 15-18 age group, 34% in the 10-14 bracket, 10% in the 5-9 bracket, and 2% in the 0-4 age group. Among the survivors, 2% (104) were differently abled children, while in the case of 12% it was unclear if they were differently abled or not, the annual report said.
Self-defence training
The panel observes the need for creating more awareness of POCSO laws, punishments, and child-friendly procedures in families, schools, and society and providing self-defence training for students. Parents/guardians should take more care to hone children’s ability to react to things they do not like and give them age-appropriate safety awareness.
Published – November 10, 2025 08:04 pm IST
