KARACHI: Sahil, a key organization dedicated to child protection since 1996, has released a comprehensive six-month report detailing the grim reality of child abuse across Pakistan. The report, covering January to June 2024, reveals a troubling number of abuse cases, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced protective measures and support systems for victims.
According to the data, a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported nationwide. This figure includes 862 instances of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 missing children, and 18 cases of child marriages. Additionally, 48 cases of pornography related to sexual abuse were recorded, highlighting a disturbing trend of exploitation following initial abuse.
The report, compiled from monitoring 81 national and regional newspapers, shows that the majority of abuse victims were girls, comprising 59 percent (962) of the cases, while boys made up 41 percent (668). The age group of 6-15 years emerged as the most vulnerable, with 693 children affected. The report also noted that 94 children aged 0-5 years, and 231 children aged 16-18 years were victims, with 612 cases where the age was not specified.
A significant finding of the report is the identification of abuser relationships. In 47 percent of the cases, abusers were acquaintances, 18 percent were strangers, and 9 percent involved both acquaintances and strangers. This underscores the pervasive nature of abuse, often involving individuals known to the victims.
Geographically, the report highlights a disparity in reported cases across provinces. Punjab reported 78 percent of the cases, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 6 percent, Sindh 11 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) 3 percent, and Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) combined accounted for 2 percent. Furthermore, 44 percent of the cases were reported from urban areas, while 56 percent came from rural regions.
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