Rape continue to top the list of crimes committed against minors in Negros Occidental, but child abuse cases and exploitation reduced slightly last year, compared to 2006, police said.

Records of the Negros Occidental police Children and Women's Protection Center show that 133 of the 220 crimes committed against minors are sexually-related offenses.

However, rape cases and related offenses dropped from 259 in 2006 to 220 last year, Senior Police Officer 4 Gracita Abellar, CWPC chief of the Negros Occidental police, said.

Police records also showed the numbers of children in conflict with the law reduced from 44 in 2006 to 28 last year, although rape remained on top of the list of crimes committed by youthful offenders.

Cases of Violence Against Women also slightly dropped from 144 to 138 in the same period, while rape also topped the list of crimes committed against women with 37, wife battering – 32 and physical injuries – 29, among others.

Abellar said they attributed the reduction in cases of child abuse, violence against women and number of youthful offenders partly to their continued advocacy and visibility operations.

The Negros Occidental police also stepped up its campaign against the proliferation of pornographic materials, topped with the recent raid of a movie house owned by a councilor in Silay City, for allegedly showing pornographic films.*GPB

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