While Nithari may have brought to public light a shocking form of child abuse by outsiders, the first-of-its-kind Government study on what goes on at home says that practically every second child in the country faces some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

The first National Study on Child Abuse, covering 13 states and a sample size of 12,446 children and released by Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury today, says that 53% of children faced some kind of abuse.

The study found that boys were as much at risk as girls. The ‘‘disturbing” fact was that 70% of the children never reported the abuse. Compared to those in the age group 13-18, younger children (5-12 years) faced higher levels of abuse.

According to the study, states like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported high levels of abuse.

An alarming trend revealed by the study was that the highest percentage of abusers were known people — friends and family — thereby dispelling the long-held notion of “safe families”.

Chowdhury said the dismal level of awareness about sexual abuse among children necessitated “mandatory sex education” in schools. Her statement comes at a time when Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have banned sex education in schools on the ground that it’s “not compatible with Indian culture”.

On the ban, Chowdhury said her Ministry was “concerned” and was in touch with the states. Saying there was a “pressing need” for sex education in school syllabi, she said: “Possibly the language and treatment will have to be changed.”

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