Rapes by minors: Shocking facts

On Monday, the Juvenile Justice Board declared the sixth accused in the horrific Delhi gangrape a minor. The accused will thus, not face trial in the special court, despite being the offender that inflicted the most harm to the victim. The maximum punishment the accused may receive is being sent to a remand home for three years.
The debate of modifying the Juvenile Justice Act continues with many voices in favour of treating juveniles in the age group of 16-18 being punished like adults for heinous crimes. Here are some horrifying statistics about minors involved in sexual abuse crimes...

According to statistics, soon after children between 16-18 years were included in the juvenile category in the year 2000, the number of rapes increased five-fold - from 198 in 2000 to a shocking 1149 rapes by juveniles were recorded in 2011.

 

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the crimes being committed by juveniles are on the rise. The number of crimes reported in a single year after the inclusion of children from 16-18 years increased by 80%!

 

A whopping 171% increase in crimes by juveniles was recorded since 2000. As many as 25,125 crimes were recorded by juveniles in the year 2011.

 

Stating that the trend is worsening with each passing year, The NCRB that about 65% of such juveniles booked under the Indian Penal Code are between 16 and 18 years of age (2010-11). About 94% of juvenile crimes are committed by boys. Madhya Pradesh (with 20%) and Maharashtra (with 19%) top the juvenile crime chart.