Sexual violence increasing in Chitwan

There has been an increase in cases of sexual violence in Chitwan during the last three years. Chief Superintendent of Police Navraj Adhikari of District Police Office Chitwan said that there has been an increase in cases of violence such as rape and child sexual abuse in the district. 

In the interaction with the stakeholders for the control of human trafficking and trafficking and child sexual exploitation organized by Maiti Nepal Chitwan on Monday in Bharatpur, the Superintendent of Police informed that there has been an increase in sexual incidents in recent years. He informed that in the financial year 2019/20, 51 cases of extortion were registered in the district, 60 in 2020/21, and 63 in 2021/22. Similarly, he says that there has been a significant increase in cases of child sexual abuse.

The Superintendent of Police stated that there were five cases of child sexual abuse in the year 2019/20, and informed that 10 cases were registered in the year 2020/21 and 17 in the year 2021/22. According to the police, complaints have started coming in that school teachers are also perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Similarly, it was informed in the program that the incidence of human trafficking has decreased in the district. 

In the year 2019/20, six cases of human trafficking were registered in the police district. Similarly, four incidents related to human trafficking were registered in the year 2020/21 and three in the year 2021/22. The Superintendent of Police said that the number of drug addicts at a young age has increased in the district and there are also various cases of child labor exploitation. 

The District Police Office has prepared educational materials for public awareness to prevent various types of violence and abuse against children. Mentioning that the curriculum is being prepared to be taught in schools, he informed us that cooperation with local levels is underway. 

In the program, Ishwar Giri, head of Maiti Nepal Chitwan, informed about the current situation of child sexual exploitation and trafficking of female children in the district. He said that the organization has been working to reduce sexual violence against women and children. According to the organization, the rescue and education of the children who are in trouble are taken and they are placed in the protection home. 

It was informed in the program that the institution has admitted a seven-year-old girl to SOS School in Bharatpur, one boy to Mamaghar in Hetauda, and three girls to Teresa Academy Kathmandu. The organization has also been active in reducing child marriage and preventing violence against children by making six women victims of violence participate in beautician training. The organization has conducted the 'Free a Girl' project with the support of the Dutch government to protect girls and bring justice in the face of violence against them. 

He informed that the project started in April 2021 and will end in December 2022. Goma Neupane of the Legal Aid Project, Savitri Tandon, president of Ramjanaki Ashram in Devghat, Bhim Bahadur Shrestha, president of Transparency International Chitwan, and others gave speeches during the program.