Living in denial: How society ignores the sexual abuse of young boys

In the middle of making her first short film ‘The Candy Man’, which deals with child sexual abuse, Insia Dariwala decided to change the protagonist from a young girl to a boy.

“My journey has always been to produce work which uncovers aspects of society that people may not be aware of; these may be social issues, certain diseases or human drama and relationships,” Dariwala, a film-maker and social activist, told IndiaSpend.

Child sexual abuse is a topic rarely discussed among conservative Indian society, and male child sexual abuse is an even more taboo issue.

As many as 53% children have faced one or more forms of sexual abuse, according to a 2007 survey by the ministry of women and child development of 12,447 children. In nine out of the 13 states surveyed, a higher percentage of sexual abuse was reported among boys than girls.

While the rape of women and girl children in India has made headlines around the world, dominated the national conversation and led to the introduction of harsher penalties and the death penalty for child rape, the reality of men as rape victims and other forms of sexual abuse has not shared the same spotlight.

Gender pay gap: Men earn 67% more than women in India, says Report

Latest News - The gender pay gap in India is as high as 67 per cent as a man on an average earns USD 167 compared with $100 by a woman, says a report.

According to Accenture Research, much of this gap is caused by the fact that there are more men than women in high paying functional and leadership roles, in addition to factors such as education levels, industry segment and hours worked.

"Despite recent successes such as improvement in education, and more work opportunities, socio-cultural issues often force women to step back at important stages in their careers making the gap harder to close," said Rekha Menon, Chairman and Sr Managing Director, Accenture in India.(Read More)