<br />The brutal rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Jammu’s Kathua district has shocked India, but it is not an isolated case. Crimes against children have been on the rise in India.<br /> 2016 saw a sharp spike of 82% in incidents of child rape as compared to 2015, shows National Crime Records Bureau data. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu registered the highest increases.<br /> 19,765 cases of rape were registered in 2016 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, as opposed to 10,854 in 2015.<br />
