EDITORIAL: The child rights NGO Sahil’s latest report detailing the plight of Pakistani children during 2023 is yet another reminder of the urgency of the systemic changes required to help protect one of the most vulnerable segments of our society. The harrowing picture revealed by the report titled ‘Cruel Numbers 2023’ depicts a sickening reality, where on average 11 children were subjected to abuse every single day during the past year.
A total number of 4,213 cases of child abuse were reported from all over the country, with these incidents, including myriad forms of maltreatment, ranging from child sexual abuse, abduction, children going missing, and of child marriages. Delving further into the details of the report tells us that out of the total reported number of cases, 53 percent of the victims constituted girls, while those between six and 15 years of age turned out to be the most vulnerable to exploitation, with boys constituting the majority of the victims in this particular age group. Most heart-wrenchingly, even children as young as 0-5 years were not spared from the horrors of sexual abuse, with their tormentors often being acquaintances of the victims.
A geographic breakdown discloses that 75 percent of these cases were reported from Punjab, 13 percent from Sindh, seven percent from Islamabad, three percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and two percent from Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Here, the oversized share of Punjab could indicate the superior quality of reporting mechanisms present in the province, with there being a need to explore more thoroughly how well the avenues for reporting such cases are functioning in other parts of the country. Given the social stigma often attached with the reporting of such crimes, as well as the lack of awareness of and poor access to the legal remedies that may be available to survivors, it would be safe to assume that the actual number of child abuse cases may be much larger than what has been revealed by Sahil.
It is a travesty that almost 34 years have passed since Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, and the country still lags behind in developing a comprehensive child protection mechanism that is in line with international standards. While several laws that aim to protect child rights have been enacted, including the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2016, the Prevention of Child Abuse Act 2018 and the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2020, their effective implementation and successful coordination between relevant agencies remain a challenge.
There is a need to account for the many societal and economic factors that contribute to the prevalence of child abuse, including poverty, patriarchal norms, power imbalances, and social inequality, which all come together to make our children more vulnerable to all forms of exploitation. To counter this, we need an all-encompassing child protection ecosystem that would see the establishment of easily accessible and confidential reporting mechanisms to facilitate survivors, rigorous enforcement of existing child protection laws and strengthening of penalties for perpetrators.
Furthermore, schools would do well to implement age-appropriate educational initiatives that raise awareness about child rights and personal safety. In addition, setting up of support services for survivors that include counselling, legal aid and medical help, as well as enhancing coordination among government departments, law enforcement agencies, NGOs and healthcare providers to ensure a cohesive response to child abuse cases has become essential.
The neglect of child rights in Pakistan demands immediate attention and decisive action, and for this we need to do everything possible to put an end to the daily trauma that has become the overarching reality of too many Pakistani children.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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