Dirty truths
There is a real rise in the numbers of children being sexually abused and this can no longer be swept under the carpet
The Ministry of Law and Justice has informed parliament that in the last two years, there were 5,790 cases of CSA registered nationally STOCK IMAGE
Pakistan is experiencing an alarming rise in the numbers of children being sexually abused. The numbers are so great that they cannot be attributed to the developing climate of disclosure that has been evident in recent times, but point to a real increase in the incidence of child sexual abuse (CSA). The Ministry of Law and Justice has informed parliament that in the last two years, there were 5,790 cases of CSA registered nationally. It is reported from every province in the land — 3,291 in Punjab, 199 in Balochistan, 77 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1,411 in Sindh, 270 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 15 in Gilgit-Baltistan. Child-care professionals the world over, as well as the police both nationally and internationally, are certain that CSA is under-reported everywhere, and Pakistan will be no exception. There are more — possibly many more — cases of CSA than show up in official figures.
Legislation to protect children from all forms of abuse is woefully inadequate and indifferently applied where it exists. Punjab is the only province with a developed government-funded child protection service staffed by trained social workers. A PPP lawmaker has called for fresh legislation to counter the increase in CSA, and has also urged provincial governments to bring forward child protection legislation. Children are vulnerable and exploited at every level in Pakistan, be they brick-kiln workers or the ‘maids’ that live in the houses of the wealthy and drudge from morning to night for tiny recompense. Official responses to the plight of children are often piecemeal, falling instead to NGOs and well-meaning philanthropists, who do what they can but it falls far short of what is needed. NGOs can do no more than collect, collate and highlight the problem, but they have neither the mandate nor the funding to go much beyond that however much they might want to. There is a real rise in the numbers of children being sexually abused and this can no longer be swept under the carpet. Over to you, legislators.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2015.
Legislation to protect children from all forms of abuse is woefully inadequate and indifferently applied where it exists. Punjab is the only province with a developed government-funded child protection service staffed by trained social workers. A PPP lawmaker has called for fresh legislation to counter the increase in CSA, and has also urged provincial governments to bring forward child protection legislation. Children are vulnerable and exploited at every level in Pakistan, be they brick-kiln workers or the ‘maids’ that live in the houses of the wealthy and drudge from morning to night for tiny recompense. Official responses to the plight of children are often piecemeal, falling instead to NGOs and well-meaning philanthropists, who do what they can but it falls far short of what is needed. NGOs can do no more than collect, collate and highlight the problem, but they have neither the mandate nor the funding to go much beyond that however much they might want to. There is a real rise in the numbers of children being sexually abused and this can no longer be swept under the carpet. Over to you, legislators.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2015.