August 9, 2024
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
In a shocking revelation, around 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported nationwide between January and June 2024, according to the NGO Sahil’s report titled Six Months Cruel Numbers. This data includes 862 cases of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 cases of missing children, and 18 cases of child marriages.
The report, based on cases reported in newspapers across all four provinces, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), reveals that 59 percent of the victims (962) were girls, while 41 percent (668) were boys.
Geographically, 78 percent of the cases were reported from Punjab, 11 percent from Sindh, 6 percent from ICT, 3 percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and 2 percent from Balochistan, AJK, and GB. Notably, 44 percent of the reported cases were from urban areas, while 56 percent were from rural areas.
In an interview with Voicepk, Imtiaz Ahmed Soomro, a lawyer associated with the Sahil Foundation, said that before the Zainab murder case, there was no established child abuse law in Pakistan. However, even with the new law in place, its implementation remains non-existent. Victims often reach compromises with the accused due to social, political, and economic pressures.
Soomro further explained that in many child rape cases, the lack of properly trained investigators and medico-legal officers results in a low conviction rate due to insufficient evidence.
Dr Aisha Memon, a social activist based in Sindh, emphasised the severe impact of child abuse on both the mental and physical development of children, noting that it remains one of the most critical issues because it is still a taboo subject. “This taboo extends to discussing what constitutes child abuse and the reluctance to report such cases to the authorities,” she said. “During my sessions on child abuse awareness in schools, colleges, and orphanages, I’ve found that the majority of children cannot differentiate between good and bad touch.”
Dr Memon advocates for parents and teachers to build strong relationships with children, encouraging them to share if someone is following or harassing them. She stresses the importance of educating children about their privacy rights, organizing sessions on good and bad touch, teaching them the meaning of consent, and ensuring they know the importance of sharing such information with trustworthy adults.
On October 8, 2019, Pakistan’s National Assembly passed the Zainab Alert Bill 2019, mandating strict penalties for officers who fail to act on child-related crimes within two hours. The bill requires that cases involving children be resolved within three months. It stipulates that crimes against children are punishable by life imprisonment, with a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 14 years.
Additionally, the bill calls for the establishment of the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency to handle emergency reports of child abduction, murder, rape, and disappearance involving minors under 18. The bill also mandates that mobile companies must promptly relay information about missing children, abductions, or rapes to TV channels, social media platforms, airports, and railway stations via a helpline. A comprehensive database on missing children will also be created.