n the last week of October 2022, a ten year old young girl was abducted in broad day light and subjected to sexual assault in the upper class Clifton locality of southern Karachi. Her family has been displaced after floods destroyed their village. They were living on a footpath near a shrine where they could get langar food. The girl was lured into a car with the promise of rations for her family and subjected to sexual violence. The horrifying incident shocked the humanitarian workers and prompted the chief minister to order immediate arrest of the perpetrators.

Similar incidents have been reported from disaster and conflict hit areas in other parts of the world distressingly often. Vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, transgender individuals and disabled people are subject to worse forms of discrimination, violence and human rights violations.

In the lexicon of the humanitarian sector, these issues are denoted as “protection” matters. Humanitarian organisations should pay special attention to protecting these vulnerable groups as their susceptibility to harm increases many folds amid disasters that displace them from their homes and social safety nets. Once they become desperate for shelter, food and other essential needs, they become easy prey to temptation, deception and servility. Young women and children are particularly at risk from imposters or at times their own families who could exploit them amid acute distress. Chances of such acts rise quickly if the affected people are not quickly housed in properly managed and safe refugee camps.

A report, Sexual Violence in Disasters, issued by National Sexual Violence Resource Centre (NSCRC) mentions that housing insecurity is both a cause and consequence of sexual violence. The report reveals that around 15 percent of people experiencing homelessness had experienced sexual assault or rape. Studies of youth experiencing homelessness have found that as many as 32 percent have experienced sexual violence while homeless, and as many as 42 percent have been involved in sex trafficking or survival sex.

The recent floods rendered millions of people homeless. These people spent several weeks in disorganised shelters erected on roadsides, mostly katchi abadis in open areas. Thousands of families were dependent on charity for food, shelter and medicine without. Most of these people were detached from their communities and were living under social isolation. Such circumstances can become breeding ground for exploitation of the weak.

Policy makers cannot have been oblivious to the problem. Various policy documents highlight these risks. The Gender and Child Cell of the National Disaster Management Authority formulated has National Policy Guidelines on Vulnerable Groups in Disasters in 2014 which discusses preventing sex crimes. Additionally, the National Disaster Management Act (2012), National Disaster Management Plan (2012-2022) and National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy (2013) have elaborate sections on the protection of vulnerable groups. It is good to have such official commitments but incidents of sex crime will continue to take place unless government invests in mass awareness, monitoring and special safety measures for women and children during and after disasters.

Sexual assault is often not reported by families to avoid social stigmatisation. Governments and law enforcements agencies too tend to conceal the prevalence of sex crimes to avoid public backlash and administrative scrutiny. In terms of sexual exploitation of children, Pakistan ranks among the worst countries in the world. It has been estimated that about 550,000 children are raped every year in the country but only a few hundred cases actually surface. The impact of child protection laws is dwarfed by social norms. Catastrophic floods caused unprecedented displacement this year and the administration lacked the capacity to settle people in properly managed camps. Humanitarian organisations were also short of resources to attend to protecting women and children from sexual exploitation while struggling with more urgent needs of food, shelter and medicine. In the absence of properly established camps, thousands of families became extremely vulnerable to violence, exploitation and discrimination during rescue and relief.

In the absence of proper shelter and toilets, privacy gets hugely compromised. This increases chances of sexual harassment and assaults. Homeless people are in a fragile state and are devoid of social support. The rape of the little girl was a result of these gaps. Some of the leading humanitarian agencies with vast global experience of managing post disaster protection issues have only scant presence in flood response this time.

Regulation for international NGOs has become so restrictive recently that some of the leading organisations have either left the country or scaled down their operations. Operational systems of international humanitarian organisations ensure better protection of vulnerable groups. These issues are often overlooked by local organisations and administration. Leaving these aspects unattended has resulted in incidents that caused long-term trauma for the victims and induced a sense of insecurity among those affected by the disaster. The emotional and psychological wounds take years to heal; in some cases the damage is irreversible.

The writer is a development sector professional. He can be reached at nmemon2004@yahoo.com