Fourfold increase in child rape cases reported in Arakan State this year

By Khin Tharaphy Oo 27 Dec 2020

Khin Tharaphy Oo | DMG
27 December 2020, Sittwe

A total of 20 child rape cases were reported in Arakan State from January to December 26, four times the number of cases last year, according to figures from the Legal Clinic Myanmar (LCM).

There were five child rape cases reported in 2019, according to the LCM branch office in Arakan State.

Among this year’s cases, the victims were between 4 and 16 years old, and one was a boy, said Daw Mya Thu Zar, the LCM’s in-charge for Arakan State.

“The offenders are [typically] relatives of the victims or their neighbours, especially those who are familiar with the victims. Most offenders are their uncle or grandfather,” she said.

Sittwe District recorded the most cases, with 11 of the 20, while the offenders are still at large in four of the cases.

Since often a relative or acquaintance is the offender, the victims’ families tend not to open a case with local law enforcement and instead settle out of court, the LCM said.

“People in Arakan State are struggling for their livelihoods amid armed conflict and the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, they cannot take care of their children and such cases happen,” said Daw Saw San Nyein Thu, chair of the Rakhaing Women’s Initiative Organization.

According to the LCM branch office in Arakan State, there were six child rape cases in 2018.