An aid group dedicated to child protection has said that its data shows assaults and sexual abuse of children have surged with at least 12 children being sexually abused on average every day in Pakistan.
The Sahil non-government organisation, in its updated report titled ‘Cruel Numbers’ said at least 4,253 were sexually abused in 2022. The report is based on cases reported in 81 newspapers from all over Pakistan. The group has been tracking child sexual abuse and working on child protection programmes for more than 25 years.
In 2021, the ‘Cruel Numbers’ data revealed that 2,325 girls and 1,928 boys had been victims of sexual abuse. This means that there has been a 33 percent increase since 2021.
GENDER & AGE
The gender divide that arises from the data, shows that out of the total reported cases of child abuse, 2271 (55%) of victims were girls, while 1,928 (45%) were boys. Every year, thousands of girls and boys in the country face sexual abuse and exploitation.
The general perception is that girls are more vulnerable to child sexual abuse. However, Sahil’s ‘Cruel Numbers’ for the past three years has recorded more boys than girls. This year both girls and boys are almost equal in the number of victims.
A total of 139 children from 0 to 5 years of age are victims of sexual abuse. A common perception is that infants and newborn children are safe but the report reveals that this is not true. While unlike the previous year, more girls than boys are sexually abused from the age bracket (0-5).
In this age bracket, a total of 10 children were murdered after sexual abuse. More disturbing is the fact that the families knew the abusers in 91 percent of these cases. Most of the perpetrators are relatives or acquaintances – neighbors, uncles, or service providers who abuse such young children.
Out of 546 total numbers, 42% were girls and 58% cases of boys were from the age bracket of six to 10 years. The data also shows that 56% victims of murder after CSA were boys. It noted that more boys than girls were sexually abused by gangs.
This year, a total of 9 cases were reported of pornography and CSA after the abduction.
The geographical distribution of the data shows that out of the total 4,253 reported cases, Punjab has the most cases.
In the year 2022, out of the total number of 4,253 reported cases more than half — 63% of cases were reported from 10 districts of which 9 belong to Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory.
Faisalabad tops the list with 535 cases, followed by Rawalpindi with 505; Islamabad 360; Kasur 340; Sialkot 219; Gujranwala 188; Lahore 173; Sargodha 147; Vehari 110; and Gujrat 105.
About Post Author
