April 14, 2025
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
A newly released report by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) has uncovered disturbing statistics on the prevalence of violence against children in Pakistan, with a detailed provincial analysis highlighting significant disparities in reported cases and judicial outcomes. The report, titled ‘Mapping Study On Violence Against Children in Pakistan (2024),’ utilized data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) requests to provide a comprehensive overview of the situation in Punjab, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, and Balochistan.
Key findings and provincial analysis
The report highlights several forms of violence against children, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, kidnapping, child trafficking, child marriage, and child labor. Overall, the findings paint a grim picture, with thousands of cases reported across the country.
Physical Abuse: A total of 683 cases of physical abuse were reported across the four provinces. Punjab reported the highest number with 455 cases, while KP reported 208. Sindh and Balochistan showed significantly lower numbers, with only 19 and 1 cases respectively, indicating substantial underreporting.
Sexual Abuse: This category had the highest number of reported cases, with 2,954 cases across Pakistan. Punjab reported the highest at 2,506 cases, while KP reported 366. Sindh and Balochistan reported 19 and 63 cases respectively, again suggesting underreporting.
Kidnapping: There were 2,437 kidnapping cases reported. Punjab accounted for the majority with 2,189 cases. Sindh reported 152 cases, KP 93, and Balochistan only 3.
Child Trafficking: A total of 586 cases of trafficking were reported. Punjab reported the highest with 457 cases, followed by Sindh with 121. KP and Balochistan reported 6 and 2 cases respectively.
Child Marriage: Child marriage was identified as substantially underreported across all provinces, with a shockingly low total of 53 cases. Punjab and Sindh reported 26 and 24 cases respectively, KP 3, and Balochistan reported zero cases.
Child Labor: 895 cases of child labor were reported. Punjab reported 450 cases and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 426 cases, while Sindh reported only 19 cases. Balochistan reported no cases.
Gaps in the justice system
The report also analyzed the criminal procedure for these cases, revealing significant gaps in the justice system. Conviction rates were alarmingly low across most categories, indicating issues with investigations, trials, and accountability.
In physical abuse cases, Punjab had 455 registered cases but only 7 convictions, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had 208 cases and no convictions. Sindh and Balochistan also reported no convictions.
For sexual abuse, Punjab recorded 2,506 cases with only 28 convictions, and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa had 366 cases with no convictions.
Kidnapping cases in Punjab numbered 2,189 with only 4 convictions.
Child marriage cases showed a zero percent conviction rate across all provinces.
Recommendations for Change
The SSDO report provides a set of comprehensive recommendations aimed at addressing these critical issues. These recommendations span across law enforcement and legislative reforms, data-driven prevention and survivor support, and social awareness and community engagement.
The report calls for urgent action to strengthen enforcement systems, expand support for victims, and implement effective legal frameworks to protect children from violence.
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