Protecting children

According to a report released by the NGO Sahil, over 2906 children were sexually abused in 2020. These figures are alarming, with over eight instances of rape or sodomy taking place each day, directed against children under the age of 16. But what is perhaps most disturbing of all is that 772 of these cases occurred within the homes of the children and were perpetrated in 1579 cases by acquaintances of the family or people who the children knew. This is proof of the extent to which we have danger lurking within our homes, with many such cases going unreported because families wish to cover them up and avoid reporting them to the police.

The other finding is the extent of child abuse in Pakistan. Per the report, 1510 girls were victims of crimes, including rape, and 1450 boys. These figures somewhat destroy the myth that only girls are vulnerable outside the homes. Boys too are often the victims of vicious attacks of sexual assault and sodomy. This is a fact that needs to be publicised better, so that parents are more aware. Around 345 children were also found missing from their homes, while 10 of them, including seven boys, had been murdered. The sexual abuse cases included seven instances of ‘vani’. Tradition, or what we call ‘tradition’, is then something which has not been stopped by law, public debate, or the various campaigns launched against it.

There needs to be a much more open and larger campaign against child sexual abuse. We have seen networks unearthed that work in alliance with international groups on child pornography sites. In these cases, children and their parents are blackmailed by the abusers to avoid speaking out about being filmed during acts of sexual violence. While the families may not be able to speak out, or are not willing to do so, it is essential that other people do speak up. We must end the myth that homes are safe places for children, women, or other vulnerable people within families. To protect children, we need to make more families aware that in most cases, the acts of violence occur at the hands of those whom children know and with whom they may be willing to go away with to a specific location. Children need to be told to avoid doing so and families encouraged to report such instances when they occur, even if there is a risk of a rift within families. The safety of children must come before such concerns. The degree of violence in our society against its most vulnerable members is terrifying. We must work together to try and bring the numbers down so that our children are safe from persons who carry out the most terrible acts of violence against them.