Child sexual abuse

A new report says 4,139 children were sexually abused last year, 2,410 girls and 1,729 boys

The sexual abuse of children is universal. There is no country or culture anywhere that is free of this curse. All of the developed states have a suite of laws in place to outlaw it, and the penalties are severe in all cases. It will never be eradicated, and the best that can be hoped for is a heightened sense of awareness and the development everywhere of a climate of disclosure — a climate wherein children are able to report what has happened to them. Pakistan is no different and like many other countries the incidence of child sexual abuse is on the rise.

A new report entitled ‘Cruel numbers 2016’ says that 4,139 children were sexually abused last year, 2,410 girls and 1,729 boys. The figures are derived from open sources and are without a shadow of doubt an under-reporting of the true numbers. Most incidents were in rural areas; with Punjab having the greatest number which considering it is the most populous province is hardly surprising. The proliferation of CSA is in part driven by the internet where images of children being sexually abused number in the many millions and are not difficult to find if one knows where — and how — to look. Nor is it difficult to find shops that sell CD’s of child sexual abuse and pornography is available everywhere in the country — in homes and workplaces as well, anywhere that has an internet connection.

The challenge for Pakistan is to bring its child protection services on a par with developed nations. There is a slowly-growing cadre of trained social workers that have an expanding body of expertise relating to helping those that have been abused. Unfortunately only Punjab has a fledgling child protection service that is linked to law enforcement and the courts, everywhere else lags far behind. Beyond the institutional challenges there is the wider challenge of learning to accept what children say, and not doubling their pain by refusing to believe them or act on what they tell adults. Numerous reports worldwide are consistent in saying that children invariably tell the truth when they report being sexually abused. It is for all of us to listen when they do — and then act.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2017.

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