Serious [ BBC News ] Beware of Indian : More than 50% Children Sexually Abused by Ind

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40823438

India media storm over 10-year-old pregnant rape victim

7 August 2017

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A 10-year-old girl who is pregnant and has been refused an abortion is at the centre of a media storm in India. The BBC's Geeta Pandey travelled to the northern city of Chandigarh to piece together her story.

"We have seen lots of cases of teenage pregnancies involving 14 to 15-year-olds, but this is the first ever case that I have seen of a 10-year-old," said Mahavir Singh, of the Chandigarh State Legal Services Authority.

Mr Singh has been involved in a case which has shocked Chandigarh and the rest of India, that of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after allegedly being repeatedly raped by a relative.

That relative is now in jail, pending trial.

The girl in question has been described as a happy child who smiles easily. She's shy and not very talkative. English and mathematics are the favourite subjects of this class six student. She loves to draw and is pretty good at it. She can't get enough of her favourite cartoon shows Chhoti Anandi (Little Anandi) and Shin Chan. She loves chicken and fish - and ice-cream.

But on 28 July, India's Supreme Court rejected a petition - filed on her behalf - to allow her to abort, on the grounds that at 32 weeks, she is too far into her pregnancy. A doctors' panel had advised the court that a termination at this stage would be "too risky" for the girl, and that the foetus was "doing well".

The court order was a huge disappointment for the girl's family.
'She has no idea what happened'

Indian law does not allow terminations after 20 weeks unless doctors certify that the mother's life is in danger.

But in recent years, the courts have received several petitions, many from child rape survivors, seeking to terminate pregnancies after 20 weeks. In most cases, these pregnancies are discovered late because the children are not aware of their condition.

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Image caption In India, a child under 16 is raped every 155 minutes, a child under 10 every 13 hours

In the case of this 10-year-old too, the pregnancy was discovered only three weeks ago when she complained of pain in her lower abdomen and her mother took her to a doctor.

Someone who interacts with the girl on a regular basis says: "She's very innocent and has no idea what's happened to her."

Her parents also missed the telltale signs, perhaps because she's "a healthy, chubby child". Besides, they couldn't imagine even in their wildest nightmares that their daughter could be pregnant at 10.

The child has still not been told about her pregnancy and, for those dealing with her, talking to her is like treading on eggshells. She has been told that she has a big stone in her stomach and the bulge is because of that.

She's been put on a special diet of eggs, milk, fruit, fish and chicken and she seems to be enjoying the extra attention.

But in recent days, police, social workers and counsellors have been in and out of her house, and a media circus has grown up outside her home.

"She might not understand the exact problem, the gravity of the situation, but I think she has some idea now," a senior official told the BBC.

Her parents are struggling to deal with the situation. The family is poor and lives in a cramped one-room flat. Her father is a government employee and the mother works as a domestic helper.

Policewoman Pratibha Kumari, who has investigated the case, describes them as a "very nice family, who are so simple that they didn't even realise what this man was doing to their daughter".

The parents, she says, are understandably distraught. "Her mother has never talked to me without crying. The father says he feels like his daughter has been murdered."

The scale of abuse in India

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A child under 16 is raped every 155 minutes, a child under 10 every 13 hours

More than 10,000 children were raped in 2015

240 million women living in India were married before they turned 18

53.22% of children who participated in a government study reported some form of sexual abuse

50% of abusers are known to the child or are "persons in trust and care-givers"

Sources: Indian government, Unicef
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