Lancet study estimates over 30% girls, 13% boys in India sexually violated before age 18
New Delhi: Over 30 percent of girls and 13 percent of boys in India experienced sexual violence before turning 18 years old in 2023, according to an analysis published in The Lancet journal.
Estimating the prevalence of sexual violence against children in over 200 countries between 1990 and 2023, the study found that the highest rates were recorded in south Asia for girls -- ranging from 9.3 percent in Bangladesh to 30.8 percent in India.
Around the world, about one in five girls and one in seven boys are estimated to experience sexual violence before turning 18.
Researchers, including those from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, US, also found that sub-Saharan Africa had the highest rates of sexual violence among boys aged under 18, varying from about eight percent in Zimbabwe to 28 percent in Côte d'Ivoire.
Sexual violence against children is a critical public health and human rights issue.
Consequences of sexual abuse affect one's long-term health by raising their risk of mental health conditions.
The researchers said that accurate global estimates of sexual violence are important for targeted prevention and advocacy efforts.
However, existing studies present estimates for a limited number of countries and are hindered by data sparsity and measurement challenges, they said.
This study -- one of the first to provide global estimates -- reviewed publicly available repositories for data on the prevalence of sexual violence against children.
"We estimate that the global age-standardised prevalence of SVAC (sexual violence against children) was 18.9 percent for females and 14.8 percent for males in 2023," the authors wrote.
The team also said that the first exposure to sexual violence among teens and young adults before age 18 occurred for nearly 70 percent of the world's men and women.
The authors also found "persistent data gaps", for which they stressed on expanded surveys and surveillance programmes.
They also called for more services and systems in place to support survivors of sexual violence for the rest of their lives and creating childhoods free of sexual violence.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
