Over 1,600 cases of child abuse reported in Pakistan in first half of 2024: Report

A new report released by Pakistan’s non-governmental organization Sahil revealed that a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported from across the country in the first six months of 2024.

According to Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers, in the first half of this year, 862 cases of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 cases of missing children and 18 cases of child marriages were reported, while 48 cases of pornography after sexual abuse were also recorded this year.

The report shows that out of the total reported cases, 962 or 59 percent of victims were girls and 668 or 41 percent were boys.

The non-government organization stated this year 81 daily national and regional newspapers were monitored from January to June 2024 to collect data of child sexual abuse, abduction, missing children and cases of early marriages, while the areas include the four provinces along with the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan Administered Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

As per a statement from Sahil, the Islamabad-headquartered organization has been working on child protection with special focus on child sexual abuse since 1996, and it aims to develop a protective environment free from all forms of violence for children, especially child sexual abuse.

Sahil also provides legal, emotional and psychological support to the victims, according to the statement.

The data noted that the most vulnerable age group remains children aged 6-15 years, with 693 cases reported in this bracket. 

Additionally, 94 cases involved children aged 0-5 years, 231 children were from the age bracket of 16-18 years, and in 612 cases, the age of the victims was not mentioned, Pakistan’s leading English daily Dawn reported, citing the figures provided by Sahil.

Between January and June this year, the abusers involved in 47 percent of the total cases were acquaintances, 18 percent were strangers, while in 9 percent acquaintances along with strangers committed crimes against children, according to the report.

Sahil’s report shows in the first half of this year, 78 percent of the total cases were reported from Punjab province and 6 percent from the Islamabad Capital Territory, while the rest of the cases were reported from other provinces including 11 percent from Sindh, 3 percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 2 percent from Balochistan, Pakistan Administered Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

Out of the total reported cases, 44 percent were from urban areas and 56 percent were from rural areas, as per the report.

Sahil, this year, has also monitored the cases of violence against women, and revealed that a total number 1,732 cases were reported in the first six months of 2024, which includes different forms of violence such as murder, suicide, abduction, rape, honour killing and torture.

The Dawn, in its editorial, said that the incidents of child abuse in Pakistan do not show any sign of dying out as frequent and shocking reports on child abuse point towards a deep-rooted malaise that is not being dealt with.

“Increasingly, the sentiment of being expendable for the state is building up among citizens, particularly the weaker and vulnerable populations,” the editorial read.

The editorial said that Sahil’s last year’s data — 4,200 reported cases of children abused in 2023, with 11 being violated daily — failed to arouse a strong response from the rulers, and as a result, conviction rates were abysmal and the environment was not made safer for the young, while children continue to get the rough end of the stick.

Last year, Just Earth News reported, citing the data revealed by an NGO, that Pakistan ranked third in online child abuse and the country witnessed a rise in sexual crimes against children, while child sexual abuse is often neglected in the South Asian country.

According to a report by The Guardian, children are sexually abused at workplaces in Pakistan, while the abuse of child workers in the northern part of the country is an open secret.

About 3.8 million children work in Pakistan, and the majority are employed in the agriculture sector, but many work in leather and shoe factories, in mechanics’ workshops and restaurants, reports The Guardian.

The Guardian reported, quoting Jawwad Bukhari, chief executive of the Alpha Foundation, a local organisation focused on getting children off the street and into schools, that the working children were vulnerable to “street sexual abuse”. 

“Sexual exploitation of children is an absolute kind of occurrence in this town, and it is immediately connected with work. You can say it is a product of how labour makes children vulnerable,” Bukhari was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Pakistani parliament passed a new law against child abuse in 2020, but they are not always enforced, according to 24Justice.pk, Pakistan’s first online legal platform.

As per 24Justice.pk, penalties for child abuse can range from a slap on the wrist to a prison sentence, and unfortunately, child abuse is still common in Pakistan, where child abuse is not only common but often goes unpunished.

The Dawn’s editorial titled “Child abuse alert” noted, “We have little choice but to recognise that all research shows an endemic acceptance of abuse and the imbalance of power, which forms the core reason for child abuse.” 

“In addition, the authorities, law enforcers and the judiciary ought to pay heed to survivors’ testimonies and to expert opinions. Laws on all forms of child exploitation should not just be tightened but implemented to ensure conviction,” the editorial highlighted.  “The plague of child cruelty is poised to destroy our future. Hence, NGOs, government departments and security personnel need to operate in tandem to formulate robust preventative mechanisms for a lasting protective environment,” it added. “Every section of society must respond with a consistent reaction to violations against our most valuable resource.”