Nepal's Children - 2

Sexual Abuse
It has been shown that over 30% of girls and 7% of boys have watched obscene sexual material with family members. Children in the 11 to 14 age range seem to be the most vulnerable to abuse of all kinds.

13.7% of all children in Kathmandu Valley reported experiencing some form of sexual abuse, including kissing, fondling of private parts, oral sex, and penetrative sex. Girls are most commonly abused in their homes, schools, or marketplaces, and boys are generally abused in the abusers' home.

In Kathmandu Valley , 12.3% of children under the age of eleven reported experiencing sexual abuse. Relatives, including direct family members, were cited as the abusers by approximately 12.5% of the girls and 7.1% of the boys. In the case of penetrative sex, this clearly indicates incest.

Another startling revelation is that nearly all street children report having experienced one or more forms of sexual abuse. This includes sexual abuse between older and younger children living in close quarters. [3]

Conditions of Children
The conditions of Nepal are extreme to all extents. Out of every 100 children, approximately 48 are malnourished, and 40 belong to extremely poor families. Out of every 80 children admitted to any school, only 51 manage to complete the primary level. [4]

41% of the population comprises of children under the age of 16, and 27,000 of those children die every year from diarrhoea. 52% of the population don't even have a toilet. Although the health conditions in Nepal are terrible, there is only one Children's Hospital, and there is approximately one child specialist to every 104,066 children. In addition to this, approximately 125,000 children in Nepal are disabled. [5]

There are also over 5000 children working and living rough on the streets of Nepal . The main cities street children can be found in are Pokhara, Narayanghat, Kathmandu , Butwal, Dharan, and Biratnagar. Every year up to 500 more children end up in the streets of Kathmandu . They come from the neighbouring districts of Makawanpur, Nuwakot, Dhading, Sindhupalchowk, Dolkha, and Kavre.

One of the most recent obstacles in working with street children is the rampant use of drugs - including intra-venous drugs used by some of the children. The common practice of sharing needles and unsafe sexual behaviours can lead to children contracting HIV.

Child Marriages
Another area where the children of Nepal are in desperate need of protection is in the child marriages that are still carried out. A young girl can be married to a very old man, who is given sexual freedom, and the choice to have as many partners as he chooses. Some girls in Nepal are brought up to believe that the words of the sage, Parasara, are true. This is the same sage that said the parents or guardians of a girl who reaches puberty before marriage would definitely go to hell.

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