Until June this year, every three days a minor has been abused in Goa, giving rise to fears that this holiday destination is turning into a hub of child sexual abuse.
One minor has been abused every three days in Goa until June this year, while in 2011 one child was abused every four days, according to statistics tabled today in the Goa legislative assembly.
Representational pic
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In his written reply, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said there had been 314 instances of child abuse in the last three and a half years and that there was a "decreasing trend" in the statistics.
While in 2009, there were 94 cases of child abuse, the number reduced to 80 in 2010 and 75 in 2011.
Goa Archbishop Rev Filipe Neri Ferrao has already cautioned that the beach tourism state was emerging as a hub for child sex tourism.
"Till recently, Thailand was considered to be the capital of the child sex tourism industry in this part of the world. It is now known how the Thai government, pushed by international child protection organisations, cracked down on the industry in that country," Ferrao said earlier this year.
"As a result, the lords of the sex trade have been looking out for fresh locations in southeast Asia. India, with her almost magical name, presents herself as an ideal alternative and Goa, which is being presented as a land on a holiday for 365 days, is increasingly seen as the most viable place for such a shift of operations," Ferrao added.
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