child rights group has warned of rising cases of child abuse in the country. According to Sahil, an NGO, 2,211 cases of child abuse were reported from across Pakistan from January to June 2022.

The data shows that 1,207 girls and 1,004 boys were abused which comes to more than 12 abused children per day. This year, reported cases under major categories are: abduction 803, rape 243, sodomy 298, gang-rape 41 and gang sodomy 87. As many as 17 boys and 13 girls were murdered after sexual abuse.

In 1,050 cases the abusers were acquainted with the victims or victims’ families.

On August 6, a disabled girl was assaulted in the Sherakot police precinct in Lahore. Police later arrested the two suspects.

Child abuse includes physical and emotional neglect and mental abuse of a child.

The number of child abuse cases reported in 2021 was 3,852. Sahil has shared the data for 10 cities with the highest number of child abuse cases in Pakistan. In 2021, Kasur topped the list with 298 cases. Rawalpindi came in second with 292, Islamabad had 247 cases, Faisalabad 237, Gujranwala 198 cases, Sialkot 186 cases, Khairpur 152, Lahore 150, Okara 120 and Muzaffargarh 107.

In 2021, 57 percent of the cases were reported from rural areas. 54 percent of the victims were girls and 46 percent boys. 92 children were murdered after sexual abuse.

The number of child abuse cases increased by 30 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. According to the report, children between the ages of 6 and 15 years were the most vulnerable.

“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul,” says American author Dave Pelzer, in his book A Child Called ‘It’.

In 2018, a child’s body was found in garbage dump. The culprit in this case was arrested and confessed to raping eight children. The case triggered widespread protests and outrage in the country. It also led to the passage of a child safety law, known as the Zainab Alert Bill. Under this law anybody found guilty of child abuse faces a minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Any law enforcement officials causing an unnecessary delay in investigating such cases also faces action.

It is feared that many incidents of child abuse still go unreported. This is mainly due to the culture of shame and protecting family honour.

The writer is a BS student at the Lahore College for Women University