By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Dec. 24: Nearly two years have elapsed since 12-year-old Dilip (not his real name) of Nepaltar was sexually abused and molested by a man in his neighbourhood.
A middle-aged guy molested the boy while he was returning home from school.
But his abuser has been walking freely as he knows that the victim cannot prove his sin, said Dilip’s mother.
In a condition of anonymity, she shared that the person who molested her son was an influential person of his locality, with a political affiliation.
“I want that the beast to be punished, but he is powerful and I am sure no one will believe us. And it’s obvious because the people are unaware that even boys can be sexually molested,” she added.
At first she was also reluctant to believe what his son went through, she shared.
“At first, I scolded him thinking that he was sharing a fake story. But later I noticed some unusual changes in his behaviours. He was very scared to go out and communicate,” said his mother.
As his both parents are daily-wage earners, they were scared to speak up because they may not get justice. But their only escape was to shift their rented room so that they didn’t have to see his face again.
Even two years after facing the unwanted situation, the boy had been unable to overcome the incident; said his mother.
This is not just about Dilip. There are many incidents of sexual abuse against boys, which remained unreported because still a large chunk of people believe that only girls are vulnerable to sexual abuse.
A research carried out in Kathmandu and Sunsari districts by Voice of Children (VOC) revealed that the legal ambiguities around the sexual abuse of boys--as an unnatural act—discourage the victim to report about the case.
There is common understanding and implicit agreement in society that girls are sexually abused, as they are vulnerable, whereas, boys are believed to be strong, hence they are less vulnerable to sexual abuse, the report read.
The research entitled exploring and addressing sexual violence of boys in Nepal made public here on Monday stated that the cases of girls’ sexual abuse are mentioned in society, whereas cases of boys’ sexual abuses are rarely revealed.
Krishna Kumar Thapa, Executive Director of VOC, said the study showed that the girls were more likely to be sexually abused compared to boys, but when boys were abused, the impact of the abuse was magnified.
Thapa said the boys, who faced sexual abuses, reported feeling of sense of loss, anger, hate, fear, confusion and suicidal thought.
“The family’s response to victims ranged from purposefully ignoring their exploitation to discriminating against them or disowning them,” he added.
Furthermore, for the victims this is compounded by the fear of being re-victimised, humiliated and not supported, he said.
Increasing awareness of school management committees and teachers on the issue of sexual violence that enables them to identify and respond to sexual abuse and harmful sexual behaviour in boys and provide them appropriate support, said Purna Shakya, chair of VOC.
He further highlighted the need for sensitising local government bodies, child protection officers, police, medical persons, lawyers and judges in all seven States about sexual violence.
The research also highlighted the need for advocating and developing child (boy)-friendly juvenile justice services in all States and safe houses for boys as victims of sexual abuse.