Protecting children

While the govt needs to play a proactive role, police, courts are duty-bound to make sure that the law is enforced

In child abuse cases, death penalty alone is not enough a deterrent. This is evidenced by the rising number of sexual violence cases in the country even despite the hanging of Zainab’s killer in October last year. A seminar recently organised in Islamabad by the Child Rights Movement (CRM) Pakistan has revealed that some 10 children are abused in the country every day and the situation is worsening with every passing day mainly due to lack of implementation of laws related to children’s rights. Speakers at the seminar titled ‘Legislative Development and State of Child Rights in Pakistan’ have called for adopting a holistic approach — also involving allocation of resources — to ensure implementation of children’s rights in the country.

Proper implementation of the laws on children’s rights is indeed the biggest challenge towards ensuring a safe and secure environment for our children. The government has taken a few steps here and there — that too in the wake of an unfortunate incident — but its response has largely been disorganised and devoid of a proper mechanism for child protection. While the government needs to play a proactive role, the police, courts and other relevant authorities are duty-bound to make sure that the law is enforced, as pointed out by one of the speakers at the seminar.

In a related move, the CRM — a coalition of more than 500 NGOs and individuals working for the promotion and protection of child rights in Pakistan — has launched a national campaign ‘Pakistanis Against Child Abuse’ or PACA, in association with civil society members and organisations in a bid to tackle the uncontrollable menace. In order to spread the campaign to every corner of the country, the programme is to be followed upon at the provincial level and then at the district level. The government must do all what it can to help this initiative that is aimed at ensuring the safety of our children who are the future of our country.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2019.

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