Don’t tolerate rape

Very recently, when a seven-year-old boy was raped, people caught the culprit and thrashed him. To humiliate him for the ugly crime, they shaved his head and face, and then handed him over to the police to book him. Residents of the area said that they had heard the child’s screams which had alerted them and they had rushed to help him.

In another case, two men drugged a child and raped him. The child had to be taken to a hospital. Reportedly, he was playing in the street when he was taken away by the culprits who assaulted him and then left him unconscious outside his house. He, too, had to be taken to hospital. As usual, police filed a case and began to investigate.

These two incidents have been reported in the Rahim Yar Khan district during the last two weeks. In both the cases, the victims were aged below 10 years. Such crimes happen so often in our society but most cases are not reported because the families want to keep mum. The cases reported represent just the tip of the iceberg. And the crime is not confined to little boys who are easy prey to the criminals.

Child rape cases getting into print recently drew attention of the society and the government. The police do take action and usually arrest the culprits who, in most cases, get released unpunished because of certain lacunae in the law on rape. The criminals roam free and the victims have to face guilt and shame for the rest of their lives.

Our legislators must pass effective and strict laws to make it simpler to convict the guilty and impose strict punishments. Unless it is done very quickly, this heinous crime is not going to be discouraged. Besides, investigation, litigation and penalty must not take much time to keep society safe from sex crimes.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2013.