t was an afternoon in Karachi’s Korangi neighbourhood. Fatima, 7, had not returned home from school. Her parents were tense and started looking for their daughter but she was nowhere to be found. After sunset, some neighbours found her in a garbage dump. She was injured and lying unconscious. The neighbours informed Fatima’s parents, who immediately took her to the local hospital, where doctors found that she had been sexually abused.

The increasing number of child abuse cases in Pakistan is disturbing. In March 2023, Fareeha mysteriously disappeared in the Data Nagar area of Karachi. A campaign to find her was started on social media, and announcements were made in the mosques. A missing person report was filed at Bin Qasim police station. The police mounted a search. Three days later, Fariha’s body was found in a nearby drain. The day after this horrifying incident, a man was caught targeting a girl in the Ibrahim Hyderri area of Karachi. The girl was saved after her screams alerted some people.

“Fatima is in the second grade. She went to school in the morning with a happy face and returned unconscious with wounds. We are scared. No one in our neighbourhood is ready to send their children to school or permit them to play in the street”, says her father.

There has been an alarming rise in child abuse cases across the country. According to a recent report compiled and published by SAHIL Foundation, 2,227 cases of child abuse were reported between January 2023 and June 2023.

More boys than girls in the 6-15 age bracket were targeted. A total of 53 child pornography cases were reported in the six months. 963 instances of accident or violence against children were also reported. 760 children died; 268 of them by drowning, 148 were murdered, 144 were in accidents and 61 committed suicide.

In the first six months, out of the 2,227 reported cases of sexual abuse, 54 percent (1,207) were girls.

In the first six months of 2023, 74 per cent of the cases were reported from the Punjab and 7 percent from the ICT. The rest of the cases were reported from other provinces, including 14 percent from Sindh, three percent from KP, and two per cent from Balochistan, AJK and GB.

This means that 12 children, on average, were subjected to sexual abuse every day in Pakistan from January to June 2023.

In 2022, a total of 4,253 cases, including child sexual abuse, abduction, missing children and child marriages were reported. In 2021 the number was 3,852. In the year 2020, 2,960 were reported. A total of 2,846 cases were reported in 2019. In 2018, the total number of cases was 3,832.

“Parents and teachers should build a strong bond with children so that they feel comfortable sharing if someone or something makes them uncomfortable. We must teach children what constitutes good and bad touch. They must be educated about consent.“

Imtiaz Ahmed Soomro, a lawyer working with the SAHIL Foundation as a legal supporter, said there were no child abuse laws before the Zainab murder case. “The implementation of these laws is negligible. Victims often settle with the accused due to social, political and economic pressure.”

“In many cases of child rape, culprits are not convicted due to lack of evidence. There are not enough properly trained investigating and medico-legal officers. Therefore, the conviction ratio is very low”, says Soomro.

The National Assembly passed the Zainab Alert Bill on October 8, 2019. It would punish officers who failed to respond to a child-related crime within two hours. The law required the prosecution to be completed within three months. Regarding the punishment of the offender, the bill states that crimes against children will be punishable with life imprisonment, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 14 years. Apart from this, Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency will be established for emergency reporting of abduction, murder, rape and disappearance of children. Information about missing children, abductions, rape etc received on a helpline will be immediately reported by mobile companies to TV channels, social media, airports and railway stations. Apart from this, a database related to missing children will be developed.

Sindh Tenancy Act of 1950, the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act of 2011, the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2013, the Sindh Bonded Labor System Abolition Act of 2015 and the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act of 2017 offer significant protection to children in Sindh.

Dr Aisha Memon, a social activist working against child abuse, sexual education and the mental health of sexually abused children, says child abuse has serious consequences for mental and physical health. The issue is one of the gravest because it is still taboo to discuss child abuse, and there is a reluctance to report child abuse cases.

“During my time, conducting child abuse awareness sessions in colleges or orphanages, a majority of the children didn’t know about their private parts. Many didn’t know the difference between good and bad touch”, says Memon.

“Parents and teachers should build a strong bond with children so that they feel comfortable sharing if someone or something makes them uncomfortable. We must teach children what constitutes good and bad touch. They must be educated about consent,” she adds.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

The writer is a Karachi-based multimedia journalist. He tweets as @RanaMalhiRM and can be reached at https://ranamalhi.wordpress.com