We all have to play a role in building stronger barriers to prevent the purchase of our children for sex.
KARACHI: Tears and silence are the only memories of the many children who are sexually abused in this country. Little children, specially girls who come from poor family backgrounds, are sold off by their own parents, because of severe poverty and are then purchased by people who abuse them sexually.
Although numerous cases of child sexual abuse have been reported, one must remember that the number of unreported cases is far greater. To be effective, prevention efforts should begin with education about sex in the very early school years of a child and should continue throughout high school.
We all have to play a role in building stronger barriers to prevent the purchase of our children for sex. Even the slightest negligence can lead to very ghastly outcomes. Moreover, we must realise that child abuse can never be prevented only via individual efforts, which may secure one child, but leave several others at risk.
God forbid if this happens with someone’s child, they should raise a loud and clear voice against it. It is time to bring about change, time to bring sexual abuse of children to an end, time to break this silence and speak up!
Sara Shamim
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2014.
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