3,445 children abused in 2017

LAHORE: An NGO working for the protection of children, Sahil, has issued its shocking report which is the compilation of child sexual abuse cases reported in Pakistan in 2017.

The NGO gathers data of child sexual abuse cases primarily from newspaper reports, the cases reported directly to it and the data provided by other organisations working on the cause. It monitored a total of 91 national, regional and local newspapers to compile the report.

According to the data, an average of nine children under the age of 18 years are sexually abuse daily in Pakistan. In 2017, 3,445 children, 2,077 girls and 1,368 boys, were abused. About 2,505 incidents were reported to police, 44 cases were not reported to police and police did not register 99 cases while 797 cases were reported in newspapers with incomplete information.

The reported cases under the major categories were: abduction 1,039, rape 467, sodomy 366, gang rape 158, gang sodomy 180 and 206 cases of child sexual abuse attempt. Moreover, 29 boys and 36 girls were murdered after sexual abuse.

There were more horrible incidents in which eight boys and as many girls were murdered after gang sodomy and rape. Around 517 children were missing. There were 143 cases of child marriage and 24 of Vani. The acquaintances of the victims and their families were the highest in number on the list of the perpetrators of the child sexual abuse. The statics shows that out of the total 3,445 cases, the abusers were acquaintances of the victims or their families in 1,421 cases, whereas, strangers were involved in abusing children in 508 cases.

There are 1,324 cases in which the age of the victims was not mentioned in newspapers. Around 448 children were abused at their own places, 410 at acquaintances’ places, 30 children in havelis, 26 in madariss, 14 at workplaces and 529 children in the open places, including the fields, streets and jungle.

Punjab is on the top of the list of child abuse as 2,168 cases were reported in the province. As many as 933 cases were reported in Sindh, 139 Balochistan, 78 Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, 3 Gilgit-Baltistan, 12 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 112 in the Federal area.

If we see the number in Lahore, there were 112 incidents reported last year. Twenty nine children were abducted and 39 reported missing in 2017. The reported cases under the major categories with reference to Lahore were: rape 13, sodomy 7, gang rape 1 and gang sodomy 4.

Ansar Sijjad Bhatti, senior regional coordination, Sahil, said that 13,000 volunteers of the NGO helped gather the data from all over Pakistan. “We recommend the authorities to start an effective awareness campaign for the protection of children and introduce new legislation, where necessary, and make sure implementation of the law.”He also called for establishing a comprehensive rehabilitation/support system for the victims of abuse. He said the messages should be included in the curriculum to protect the children from abuse.