A Schematic Review on Prevalence of and Society’s Reaction to Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse has a lengthy history which has been documented in several cultures over the years, but child sexual abuse (CSA) has only been fully acknowledged more recently in India. In earlier decades, girls were seen as victims in cases of physical child sexual abuse. However, it has emerged that sexually abused children (the victims may be both male and female) endure a lot of psychological changes and traumatic stress as well as physical effects following the abuse. This led to the passing of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act (2012), a special law which covers a wide range of offenses like harassment, child rape, and pornography. Numerous organizations from all over the world, have worked to regulate this area and protect children from the psychological anguish caused by the abuse, as well as to control the abuse itself. This chapter highlights the types of child sexual abuse, suggests how to prevent it, presents guidelines for counseling victims as well as previously reported CSA cases and the laws regarding CSA in India.