Barely a week passes and a case is reported or makes headlines
SWABI: Paedophilia is increasing by the day. Barely a week passes and a case is reported or makes headlines. Experts claim that it’s a psychotic disease. Paedophiles find it difficult to control themselves. People often brush aside the fact that the curse of paedophilia was even prevalent in the past, but often such assault cases used to go unreported owing to the shyness on the part of the victim, unavailability of social media or lack of trust in law-enforcing agencies. It is fortunate that the menace is no more kept a secret and is mostly put forward to law-enforcing agencies in seeking justice and legal proceedings against the accused. Dozens of such tragic incidents have been witnessed over the last two years. The police, who are criticised for not taking such assault cases seriously; now register proper cases under relevant laws, apprehend the suspect and produce them in court. But what we witnessed is the compromise between the paedophiles and the victim’s family due to which the accused is let off. Is it fair to do so?
Should we wait until the offender, for hiding his crime, kills the subjected minor and another case like Zainab’s appears?
If they are to make compromise then what is the need of engaging law-enforcing agencies, highlighting the issue in the media and making rounds of the courts? Is it not dangerous giving another chance to a paedophile to commit such a crime? Though forgiving is not a bad act at all and is a virtue of true believers, not all cases can fall into this category as it might lead to a rise in such cases. I’m of the opinion that a law must be enacted to do away with the rights of the victim’s family for forgiving the cases of paedophilia to ensure punishment to paedophiles. This would reduce the crime.
Numan Bacha
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.
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