Perhaps not a single day passes without a news story of child abuse being reported
TURBAT: According to a recent news story, a child named Sarawan Sakhi committed suicide in the city of Pasni because he was sexually harassed. The perpetrators have still not been arrested.
Such cases are not uncommon. In the same month, a girl was raped in one of the villages of Kharan. The perpetrators were caught but the life of the girl-child was ruined. Despite all the hue and cry raised when cases of sexual abuse of children are reported, the number of cases are on a rise. Perhaps not a single day passes without a news story of child abuse being reported.
Child sexual abuse is unfortunately rampant in every part of the country. According to reports, approximately 11 children are abused daily in Pakistan, increasing the child abuse rate to 11 per cent.
According to another recent report, there were a total of 4,139 and 3,768 child abuse cases in the years 2015 and 2016, respectively. There were almost 1,729 child abuse cases of boys and 2,410 cases of girls. We cannot rule out the fact that many cases also go unreported so the numbers may actually be higher than those being stated.
The government should enact and implement stringent laws to prevent child abuse. Perpetrators should be sentenced to life imprisonment and the CM of Balochistan is hereby requested to take notice of the recent case of Sarawan Sakhi and punish the culprits as soon as possible.
Zeeshan Nasir
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2018.
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