Child protection units to be set up at women police stations to deal with abuse cases

As more and more case of sexual abuse and violence against children continue to surface, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to establish child protection units (CPUs) at all women police stations to deal with such cases.

The CM took the decision while presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Child Protection Committee (CPC) at the CM House on Monday. Ministers Sohail Anwar Siyal and Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memom, Inspector General Police AD Khowaja, Principal Secretary to the CM Sohail Rajput, Education Secretary Iqbal Durrani and rights activists Advocate Zia Awan and Shehzad Roy attended the meeting.

“Children are our hope, our future and the beauty of our society. Therefore, we have to protect them from abuse and have to nurture them with self-respect, dignity and care,” said Shah.

He directed the Sindh Child Protection Authority (CPA) to convene its meeting and also involve some experts on child abuse to form solid and workable recommendations for establishing child protection units, which children, their parents/ guardian or civil society members can approach easily. “I want to receive these recommendations within a week,” he said.

A proposal of establishing CPUs at every police station was discussed in the meeting but the chief minister said that mostly people avoid going to police stations since their perception is very different. “Therefore soft, decent and friendly units should be established where not only the [abused] child, but their parents too can approach [officials] easily,” Shah said. “I am of the view that women police stations may be an appropriate place where such kind of cases could be dealt with.”

IGP Khowaja proposed that a separate child protection desk could also be set up at police facilitation centres, which are being established at Divisional Headquarters, where the social welfare department can post their necessary staff to receive complaints and take action.

The social welfare department proposed to establish a separate police force, comprising senior women police officers with other properly trained policemen to deal with such cases. The chief minister said that he wants concrete measures for child protection. “The child protection units should be seen operating and giving results,” he said. “I don’t a have problem with sparing funds for the purpose and I am even ready to outsource the centres, but I want results.”

The proposal to establish CPUs at women police stations has been approved but it will only be implemented when the Child Protection Authority comes up with other proposals within

a week as per the CM’s directives.