OPEN-ACCESS PEER-REVIEWED
1Ms. Sourabhi Avadhoot Sahakari
1PhD Research Scholar, Goa University.
Abstract
It is important to investigate the spatial patterns of child abuse as this is a major social problem thatrequires an efficient analysis of the distribution when developing suitable interventions. The main aim of this particular research is to identify the risks and evaluate the geographicalsettings of child abuse incidences in Goa State, India through GIS and spatial analytic tools. This research analyses various data from the cop sectors, health care,and social services to determine the regions that experience high rates of child abuse and discuss potential socio-demographic, and physical environmentsfor abuse associated with these regions. Analyzing the geographicaldistribution of cases of child abuse, the study uses spatial statistical tests to identify clusters and outliers, which enlivens the picture of the distribution of cases. The study established that there is a geographicaldistribution of child abuse cases where some urban and rural areas have high rates of child abuse cases. High unemployment, illiteracy levels, and poor social welfare are cited as some of the areas explainable for child endangerment in such areas. Therefore, the use of spatial analysis to map hotspots and dangerous people will assist the policymakers, social offices,and police in the right placement of the interventions. Thus, this work adds to the Child Protection literature by presenting a detailed spatial analysis of child abuse cases to inform stakeholders operating in Goa about the most effective ways to addresschild abuse. This study shows that GIS can be used in the determination of child abuse and research in public health and social sciences can benefit from the tool to come up with other formations of improving on safety of children.
Keywords: Child abuse, spatial distribution, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), vulnerability mapping, Goa
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