Over 200 sexual abuse cases reported in Karachi in 2022

Cases of minor girls’ murder after rape have seen a disturbing rise in Karachi during 2022. A sudden increase has been observed recently, with at least six such cases reported in the city in three and a half months — half of them this month alone.

Over 200 sexual abuse cases have also been reported in the city this year. The Karachi police statistics show that in eight of the 216 abuse cases, the victims were aged until five years, 40 were aged between six and 10, 38 between 15 and 18, and 95 over 18.

Police have arrested the suspects in almost all the minor girls’ rape and murder cases. Close relatives and neighbours have been found involved in majority of the incidents.

A man named Mujeebullah, alias Nadeem, was arrested this month over the rape and murder of his 12-year-old niece in the Jacob Lines area, which falls in the Brigade police station’s jurisdiction.

“In such cases where close relatives are involved and doing such things in the house, the police can’t do anything,” Sindh police chief IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon told The News. “But the police can timely investigate these cases with the help of forensic and digital evidences after they’re reported.”

He explained how forensic and digital evidences help the police investigate such cases. “In the Landhi Muslimabad case, in which a murdered seven-year-old girl was found in the garbage on December 16, forensic evidence helped the police. While 25 DNA samples didn’t match, the 26th did.”

District Malir police chief SSP Irfan Ali Bahadur suspended the Quaidabad SHO and other cops after the girl’s family claimed that the police showed their usual negligent behaviour in starting to search for the missing girl after lodging a case. The family had also distributed copies of the missing alert to the locals and found the body themselves.

Regarding the expertise of police investigators, the IGP said that there is a need to improve police training. “Police investigations in such cases have now seen much improvement compared to the earlier situation, but now they need more training to deal with these cases.”

War Against Rape (WAR), a non-governmental organisation focusing on such incidents, also investigated these cases. WAR’s findings on this year’s sexual violence cases until July show that in the 42 cases investigated, 27 (64 per cent) survivors were children under 18 years.

The most vulnerable age group was said to be 5-11 years (36 per cent), followed by 12-17 years (29 per cent). The average age was 14 years in all cases investigated, with the minimum age of survivors being five years.

Thirty-eight (90 per cent) cases were reported of women and female children. In terms of nature of assault, 64 per cent of the cases were of rape, 18 per cent of gang rape, 12 per cent of incest and six per cent of sexual assault.

District West has been the red-alert zone, indicating the highest incidence of sexual violence at 47 per cent, followed by District East (21 per cent), District Korangi (14 per cent), the Malir and South districts (eight per cent each), and the Keamari and Central districts (one per cent each).

“First of all, the government should adopt and expand life skills-based education, also known as comprehensive sexuality education, across Pakistan,” WAR programme officer Sheraz Ahmed told The News.

“They should also expand training programmes for parents and teachers to make children aware of the good touch and the bad touch, or the self-protection knowledge. You can’t trust anyone. Close relatives are also found involved in some of these cases.”

He said parents should have a good relation with their children to train them on sensing the bad touches. “If the parents are going somewhere, they don’t need to leave their children alone at home,” he pointed out.

“But if they’re forced to leave their children home alone, they should lock the door from the outside after taking all the precautionary measures like switching off the gas, etc.”

He seemed unhappy with the government’s approach. Citing the example of the Zainab Alert, he said that some cases were reported but the government was not accepting them. He stressed the need for the effective implementation of the Zainab Alert app.

“Children will be safeguarded when the state’s approach will be proactive. Teachers should be trained for tips and techniques to identify child sexual abuse symptoms or signs. The media can also play a better role in spreading awareness.”

He said that the police should also play their role because these cases are not only occurring inside homes but also out on the streets and on empty plots, adding that the police should take the missing cases seriously.

He lamented that in some cases, police negligence or delay is found to be the cause of the culprits succeeding in their brutal acts, and since close relatives and neighbours are involved, they kill the victims to protect their identities and avoid being arrested.

“The minor Afghan girl killed recently at the Afghan camp in Karachi had been abducted, then raped and murdered on an empty plot. She was playing with the neighbours’ children, and was alone when she was kidnapped because her friends had gone back home. It was the parents’ responsibility to ask her to return home on time.”

The Karachi police surgeon’s office has also recorded an increase in such cases. “In the last one year, cases of rape-murder have increased considerably. Of much concern is the number of minor boys and girls who are murdered after being raped,” Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told The News.

“A variety of injuries have been seen, depending upon the age and physique of the victim in comparison with the perpetrator. In most instances involving very young children, there may not be physical injuries because they’re quickly overpowered.”

December 13

A six-year-old Afghan girl was raped and killed after she went missing from outside her house. The family frantically searched for her but to no avail. Later, the girl’s body was recovered from a deserted house near the Gulshan-e-Maymar Afghan camp police checkpoint.

December 8

A teenage girl was raped and murdered by a man who was then caught by the locals as he was trying to escape in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal neighbourhood, which falls in the Mobina Town police station’s jurisdiction.

The 14-year-old girl was found inside her home near the Mosamiyat area. She had been strangled. The killer had worked at her house as a plumber. He had forced his way into the house when the girl was alone.

December 6

A 12-year-old girl was killed after being subjected to rape in a house located in the Jacob Lines area, which falls in the Brigade police station’s jurisdiction. Police arrested her uncle for the incident.

November 18

A seven-year-old girl was raped and killed in Landhi’s Muslimabad area, which falls in the Quaidabad police station’s jurisdiction. Her family held a protest because the police delayed searching for the missing girl and registering a case for at least two days.

September 21

A 12-year-old girl was found hanging from the ceiling in a room of her house in the Korangi area, which falls in the Zaman Town police station’s jurisdiction. Police said she might have been killed by her tormentor fearing that she would speak up against him.

September 10

A 10-year-old girl was raped and killed in Kashmir Colony, which falls in the Mehmoodabad police station’s jurisdiction. The suspect strangled the victim first and then raped her. The victim’s parents said they found the girl’s body on the stairs leading upto the first floor of their house.