In Goa, very unfortunately, mobilisation against child sexual abuse is nearly non-existent, or buried under a culture of denial. The public conscience seems to have grown quiet on the ground while it boils over on social media (and very quickly cools down). When local children are harmed -- shame and image protection of institutions often silence survivors and families. For migrant children, this indifference is compounded by both societal and systemic xenophobia, class bias, observes Rajeshree Nagarsekar.
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The horrific sexual assault of a three-year-old child in Mapusa, has once again shattered the projection of Goa as a peaceful and safe state. Found bleeding and severely traumatised, this toddler, child of a marginalized migrant vendor, joins a horrifying long list of children targeted in the state. With 269 registered crimes against children in the last nine months (averaging nearly one minor victim every single day), Goa faces a severe crisis. According to NCRB data released five months earlier, minors accounted for 61% of all rape survivors in Goa (65 out of 106 survivors), indicating a minor rape rate of 8.1 per lakh population, the highest in the country. This continuous pattern of violence prompts a critical question: Why do such brutal crimes against children persist in Goa?
The Mapusa tragedy occurred in an abandoned commercial structure. Goa's rapid, unchecked real estate growth has left behind countless abandoned properties, unlit stretches, and poorly monitored construction zones. These locations act as blind spots that predators exploit due to a complete lack of basic municipal oversight and regular patrolling.
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Children of a lesser God
When it comes to heinous crimes like rape and sexual assault, the mechanisms of justice in Goa falter systematically. But for the children of the migrant work force, the system doesn't just falter; it actively erases them. Children of these transient workers are routinely left exposed without safe childcare infrastructure, making them targets for predatory offenders who count on their victims' lack of resources and local support to fight back.
For years, Goa’s law enforcement have been facing severe criticism for reactive rather than proactive policing. When the justice system exhibits systemic complacency, the deterrent effect for potential criminals disappears. To add to this are crimes committed by the police themselves like the recent crime branch case, where protectors turn predators. The state's political apparatus consistently fail to allocate the necessary budgets to install mandatory infrastructure like CCTVs besides other things, to secure dark spots or public spaces.
The official data on child sexual abuse in Goa represents only a fraction of the actual crisis. The gap between true occurrences and recorded cases is aggressively policed by law enforcement through institutional inaction and forced compromises. When a migrant parent attempts to report a heinous crime, they face an intimidating, hostile environment.
Local police stations regularly deploy specific tactics to deter survivors. The most common being the "compromise" or "settlement" culture wherein police officers, in connivance with a few (notorious) NGOs frequently act as mediators, pressuring uneducated, economically weak migrant parents into accepting money from perpetrators to avoid filing a FIR. The same ecosystem routinely weaponises the precarious legal status of these vulnerable women and children, threatening them with eviction, harassment, or counter-accusations if they pursue legal action. The language barrier is also actively used to confuse victims.
For the few cases that manage to break through police hostility and secure an FIR, the systemic trauma only intensifies. Goa’s support infrastructure for vulnerable children remains chronically underfunded and understaffed, despite the prevalent Goa Children's Act. Forensic examinations are routinely delayed, destroying vital evidence. Victim-blaming remains prevalent during state-mandated counseling and preliminary legal proceedings.
Knowing that migrant families must constantly move in search of seasonal work, perpetrators and institutional actors deliberately stall court dates, banking on the family's eventual departure from the state in a bid to dismantle the prosecution's case.
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Call to Action
Dear reader, you have the collective power to demand accountability, monitor local enforcement, and protect the most vulnerable among us. A few (least);things that we as a vigilant society with zero tolerance to crimes against our children (local or migrant) can and should do:
If you suspect a child is facing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, immediately call 1098. You do not need to prove the abuse to report it.
If you are assisting a family facing police refusal to file an FIR, bypass local stations and escalate the complaint directly to the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR). Under the law, any delay or refusal by police to register a POCSO case is a punishable criminal offense.
Use your local residential groups and village Gram Sabhas to demand regular safety audits of local construction sites and informal settlements. Demand that local builders and contractors provide secure, well-monitored crèches and day-care facilities for the children of their labourers.
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The brutal violation of a three-year-old child must serve as an urgent wake-up call. If Goa continues to treat child safety as an afterthought while prioritizing its commercial image, its transition from a safe haven to a high-crime state will become permanent.
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