WAR calls for deciding cases of child sexual abuse within six months

The War Against Rape (WAR) has expressed its deep concern about the case of a minor girl who was kidnapped and raped before being brutally tortured and murdered in Karachi a few days ago.

The state, including DIG East Noman Siddiqui and SSP East Junaid Shaikh, should arrest the perpetrator and fairly investigate the case to serve speedy justice so that other innocent children could be saved, the group said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

WAR, a non-profit organisation active since 1989, said it was also deeply concerned about the growing cases of child sexual abuse in Pakistan.

According to WAR’s factsheets on sexual violence during the last decade, about 40,000 cases of child sexual abuse were reported across Pakistan. However, WAR believes that these figures were only the tip of the iceberg; the actual figures are much higher than this.

The organisation’s last fact sheet on SGBV revealed that of 61 cases investigated in Karachi, 38 (62 per cent) of sexual violence survivors were minors with the minimum age of a survivor only three years. The organisation has been voicing its concern over the increasing frequency of child rape, where many children, some as young as five, have been raped and killed by the attacker(s).

While concerned about the growing severity and increasing number of child sexual abuse cases, WAR recommended the state to address frontline stakeholders, i.e. police, prosecutors and judges, medico-legal officers (MLOs), media, academician and community members, who need to be sensitised and re-sensitised through refresher courses to identify, prevent and effectively respond so as to ensure the safety and protection of the vulnerable segments of the society, particularly children. WAR also requested the authority concerned to work for fast trials to ensure speedy justice so that cases of child sexual abuse could be decided at least within six months.