As many as 3,852 children including 2,068 girls and 1,784 boys were sexually abused all over Pakistan in 2021, revealed Sahil, an NGO working against child abuse.
The organization revealed the data in a report titled ‘Cruel Number’. The data shared by the organization said that 10 children were abused on daily basis in 2021.
The NGO categorized child abuse as abduction (1,060 cases); sodomy (483 cases); rape (410 cases); gang rape (146 cases); and gang sodomy (234 cases). The report says that 22 boys and 18 girls were slaughtered after sexual abuse while at least 10 boys and three girls were killed after gang sodomy and rape.
About 438 children were found missing from their homes.
Read more: 10 children sexually abused daily in Pakistan between January and June
The report further showed that from a total of 3,852 cases, at least 1,715 cases were found where the abusers had acquaintance with victims or the victim’s families.
While 289 cases were recorded in which strangers were involved in abusing children.
Age-wise breakdown of the sexually abused children
Moreover, the NGO’s report further revealed that at least 223 children were 0-5 years old; at least 821 were aged 6-10 years; at least 1,320 were aged 11-15; while 460 were 16-18 years old.
At a minimum 447 cases were found where the children were abused in their own places, 1,715 were abused at relatives’ places, 49 children in madrasa; 35 children at workplaces, 23 children in havelis, while 643 children in streets, fields, graveyards, canals, and jungles.
Province-wise breakdown
In Punjab, 2,464 sexually abused cases were reported, including 150 in Lahore. In Sindh, at least 885 children were harassed. In Balochistan at least 47 children were sexually harassed, and at least 195 children were assaulted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In Gilgit-Baltistan, one child was physically abused while at least 13 children were abused in Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Furthermore, at least 247 children were sexually abused in the federal areas and at least 3,217 incidents were found in respective police stations.
To curb the threat of sexual abuse, the NGO gave the following recommendations:
· Creating an effective awareness campaign for the protection of children from this evil.
· Introducing new legislation, where required, and ensuring the implementation of compulsory enactments.
· Creating a comprehensive rehabilitation/support system for the victims of abuse.
· Inclusion of the protection messages in the curriculum.
