Child Sexual abuses are a pressing concern in most countries of the world that not only have immediate negative psychological impacts but also have damaging long-term effects that ruins the remaining children’s life. Sexual offences against children have reached epidemic proportion in those countries where highest rate of such crime is prevalent that confirms the importance of the problem among both men and women. Every legal system provides a range of offences regarding sexual conduct with children but still this disease is rampant, indiscriminate and cuts across class, geography, culture and religion. According to International Labour Organization, children who are victims of forced labour are often become victims of sexual abuse. In most African countries, children are sold into prostitution to pay off family debts which the terrible form of sexual offences against child. Other forms include child pornography, procuring a child for prostitution, statutory rape with a person below the age of consent and other abuses related to the sexual exploitation of children.
The true prevalence of child sexual abuse is not known since the Victims often hesitate to report sexual offences to police or other authorities but United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime made an effort to rank countries with highest rate of sexual offences committed against children recorded by the police. Their figures do not reflect the total number of sexual offences committed against children since many cases often go under-reporting, but it does give broader view of current situation. Based on UNODC’s latest report, here are top 20 countries with highest rate of sexual offences against children.
| Rank | Country | Rate per 100,000 population (2011) | Total number of police-recorded sexual offences against children |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 151.8 | 166 |
| 2. | Sweden | 76.4 | 7,223 |
| 3. | Chile | 62.3 | 10,784 |
| 4. | Costa Rica | 55.7 | 2,641 |
| 5. | Bahamas | 48.0 | 176 |
| 6. | New Zealand | 43.2 | 1,906 |
| 7. | Belgium | 35.9 | 3,949 |
| 8. | Grenada | 33.3 | 35 |
| 9. | Finland | 31.2 | 1,682 |
| 10. | Paraguay | 30.4 | 2,001 |
| 11. | Israel | 29.1 | 2,192 |
| 12. | Bolivia | 27.6 | 2,854 |
| 13. | Norway | 26.6 | 1,316 |
| 14. | Botswana | 26.6 | 529 |
| 15. | Mauritius | 23.4 | 289 |
| 16. | El Salvador | 23.0 | 1,437 |
| 17. | Belize | 22.4 | 71 |
| 18. | France | 21.2 | 13,470 |
| 19. | Trinidad and Tobago | 18.9 | 252 |
| 20. | Cape Verde | 18.1 | 89 |
Source : United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
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