Adrita Dey, Calcutta University, Department of Law
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occuring in public or in private life."
Violence against children includes all forms of violence against people under the age of 18 years. Girls are at a greater risk of sexual abuse. As children reach adolescence, peer violence and intimate partner violence, in addition to child maltreatment, becomes highly prevalent.
In India, a child is sexually abused every 15 minutes, according to the latest government figures.
The National Crime Records Bureau report, released on Thursday, shows a steady rise in incidents of offences against children.
