CHILD ABUSE

Any sort of physical violence, sexual harm, emotional abuse and maltreatment to
child by an adult which is violent and threatening for a child and leaves negative
impact on his physical and mental health refers to child abuse.

CAUSES:

Children are never responsible for any harm inflicted upon them. Sometimes lack
of attention from parents drives an individual to maltreat a child. That individual
can be anyone such as stranger, care taker, neighbor, teacher, relative or any other
close friend of parents. Parents should always show concern towards their child
and recognize physical and emotional distress in child’s behavior. Parenting plays
an important role in lives of children. Lack of attention and harsh physical
discipline could lead to emotional trauma and depression that affect academic
performance of child. Child abuse is often done by the one whom parents trust
blindly. Always keep an eye on those who show unusual affection towards your
child and tries to touch them inappropriately. If you suspect child abuse then report
the abuse to the proper authorities.

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE:

1. PHYSICAL ABUSE:
Physical abuse happens when a child has been hurt or injured, and it is not an
accident. Physical abuse does not always leave visible marks or injuries.

2. SEXUAL ABUSE:
Child sexual abuse happens when an adult, teenager or child uses their
power or authority to involve another child in sexual activity.
 3. EMOTIONAL ABUSE:
Emotional abuse happens when a child is treated in a way that negatively impacts
their social, emotional or intellectual development.

4. NEGLECT:
Neglect happens when a child's basic needs are not met, affecting their health and
development

EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE:

 Shame/ self-blaming.
 Anger towards the abuser.
 Fear of getting close and trusting people.
 Sadness, confusion and low self-esteem
 Flashbacks, nightmares and reliving the abuse.
 Denial that it happened because of abuser’s fear.
 Trouble at school with learning new things and socializing with
others.

CHILD ABUSE A GLOBAL ISSUE:

In the United States, child protective services (CPS) received 676,000 reports
Trusted Source of individuals experiencing abuse or neglect in 2016. One study
has suggested that 1 in 4 children experience some kind of neglect or abuse at
some time. A shocking picture of physical abuse and mistreatment of children in
countries in every corner of the world, ranging from corporal punishment in
schools to forced prostitution, rape and mutilation, was revealed in a survey by the
United Nations
 Globally in 2014, 1 billion children aged 2–17 years experienced physical,
sexual, and emotional or multiple types of violence.
 A quarter of all adults report having been physically abused as children
 One in five women and one in 13 men report having been sexually abused as
a child
 In 2014, children comprised 28 percent of detected trafficking victims
 Every year, there are an estimated 41,000 homicide deaths in children under
15 years of age.

CHILD ABUSE IN PAKISTAN:

Child Abuse is unfortunately a common occurrence in Pakistan which tries

to cover itself under the guise of religion but it is shocking and sad that
pedophilia or child abuse is rampant in Pakistani society. The infamous
Zainab case in Kasur and the Kasur child abuse scandal are just two
infamous incidents which present a very crucial picture of the disease that is
plaguing our society and government officials and other important persons
fail to address this issue and even if they do, it is too late and the cycle
continues.

“Above 1,300 child sexual abuse cases reported in Pakistan within six
months”

As per the report, as many as 1300 children have had to face sexual abuse of
some kind in the last six months in Pakistan. The report specifically took
into consideration the incidents of sexual violence against children between
January and June this year and concluded that the almost a shocking 1,304
cases had been reported during the mentioned period. It went on to add that
as many as 729 girls and 575 boys suffered sexual abuse of some kind
between Jan-Jun 2019.The report revealed that there had been 652 report
cases in Punjab, 458 in Sindh, 32 in Baluchistan, whereas, 51 in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, reports of sexual abuse pertaining to underage
children amounted to 90 in Islamabad, 18 in Azad Kashmir and 3 in Gilgit-
Baltistan. The report further mentioned that as many as 50 children became
victims of sexual abuse in Lahore alone. It was also revealed that as many as
12 minor girls and boys suffered sexual abuse in Madrassahs.

ZAINAB ANSARI’S CASE FROM KASUR, PUNJAB:

A seven-year-old Zainab was on her way home from lessons on the Koran at
a tuition center when she was kidnapped. Her body was recovered from a
trash heap five days after she went missing. A post-mortem examination
suggests she was raped and sodomised before being strangled to death. She
was buried at her ancestral graveyard in Road Kot leaving the entire district
Kasur in deep shock and mourning her death. Zainab was the twelfth girl.
Eleven cases of a similar nature were recorded in the same neighborhood
during the past year.

10 YEAR OLD FARISHTA MURDERED IN TEMPLE:

The DNA report of Farishta, an eleven years old girl who was allegedly
raped and then killed in federal capital, says no evidence of rape was found.
The report said that eyes, scull and feet of the little girl were eaten by
animals. It added that the clothes of girl were not torn off. The report said
the body of girl was eaten by insects and it was difficult to collect more
evidences. The postmortem report of the minor girl revealed that she was
attacked by a knife and severe loss of blood caused the death.

BOYS RAPE AND MURDER CASE, KASUR:

The rapes and murders of three minor boys whose bodies were discovered
on Sept 17. One of the bodies was identified as eight-year-old Faizan while
the remains of the other two are believed to be of Ali Hussnain and Suleman
Akram. Police sources said that four children aged between eight and 12
years had been missing since June.
RAPE CASE ZAMAN TOWN KORANGI, KARACHI:

Two incidents of child abuse — a minor boy and a minor girl — have
surfaced in the Zaman Town area of Karachi's Korangi locality. According
to police, a man in Zaman Town alleged deceived a four-year-old girl — his
neighbor — into coming to his home where he trapped and raped her. The
incident occurred two days ago and a first information report (FIR) was filed
a day later.
On the other hand, a man on Saturday sexually assaulted a minor boy who
had gone to his home for tuition. It was unclear whether the rapist was the
tutor or another adult in the house

PRICIPLE IN PESHAWAR INDICTED FOR CHILD

ABUSE:

A local court has indicted a private school’s principal on charges of child

abuse, pornography, rape, blackmail and illicit relations. The accused,
Attaullah Marwat, pleaded not guilty on all counts.
The accused, who is the private school’s owner, was arrested after the
Hayatabad police station registered a case against him on July 14, 2017, on
the complaint of a boy student, who had accused him of sexually exploiting
schoolchildren, including girls, and filming them by secret cameras installed
on campus.
The police had recovered memory cards and USBs and saw several videos
showing the accused sexually exploiting students, including girls, in
different parts of his private school.
The number of child abuse cases is rising not only in Peshawar, but in other
parts of the country as well.
DATA ON CHILD ABUSES 3832 CASES ON CHILD ABUSE
REPORTED LAST YEAR:

The report says that in 2018, 92 cases were reported of murder after sexual
abuse which is a decrease of 16 per cent cases as compared to reported cases
of year 2017.

A gender analysis of the data shows that cases of murder after sexual abuse
of boys have increased 50 per cent in 2018 which was 42 per cent in 2017
however cases of girls have decreased from 58 per cent in 2017 to 50 per
cent in 2018. Overall, out of the total cases, 55 per cent victims were girls
and 45 per cent were boys.

The report has been compiled from monitoring of 85 national and regional
newspapers with an objective of presenting the data of the situation of
violence on children in the form of child sexual abuse, kidnapping and
missing children, so that relevant strategies for prevention, intervention and
protection can be made and to contribute to existing information on CSA in
Pakistan.

The report shows that in 2018, in the age bracket of 6-10 years and 11-15
years, boys were more vulnerable to child sexual abuse as compared to girls
whereas in the age bracket 0-5 years and 16-18 years, more girls were found
vulnerable to child sexual abuse.

It says that a total number of 5628 abusers were identified in the reported
cases, which includes the data of gangs involved in 2826 cases of abuse. The
number excludes 130 cases of child marriages and 876 cases in which
number of abusers was not mentioned in the newspapers.

Out of the total number of 3702 reported cases (excluding 130 child
marriages cases), 1571(41 per cent) incidents occurred in closed places and
544 (14 per cent) cases took place at open places whereas, the place of abuse
was not mentioned in 1587 (41 per cent) reported cases.
Out of the total number, 63 per cent cases were from Punjab, 27 per cent
cases from Sindh, 4 per cent cases from KP, 3 per cent cases from Islamabad
Capital Territory, 2 per cent cases from Balochistan, 34 cases from AJK and
6 cases were reported from Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) whereas 72 per cent (2770)
were reported from rural areas and 28 per cent (1062) cases were reported
from urban areas. Around 86 per cent cases were registered with the police
whereas in 56 cases police refused to register the case, and 39 cases were
unregistered with police. While in 11 per cent incidents, the case registration
status was not mentioned in newspapers.

Out of the total number, 2,327 cases of child sexual abuse (excluding cases
of abduction, child marriages and missing children) were reported with 51
per cent cases of girls and 49 per cent of boys. The data shows that 33 per
cent cases of only child sexual abuse were increased as compared to last
year’s data of reported cases.

In 2018, a total 1064 cases of abduction have been reported in newspapers.

Out of these cases, 79 per cent victims were girls and 21 per cent were boys.

In addition, a total 130 cases of child marriages were reported in newspapers

in the year 2018. Out of the total 130 cases of child marriages, 85 per cent
were girls and 15 per cent were boys. The provincial divide of child
marriages cases shows 65 per cent cases from Sindh, 33 per cent from
Punjab and 2 per cent cases reported from KP and Islamabad.

Speaking on this occasion, Executive Director Sahil Manizeh Bano

presented a legal case study highlighting the process and difficulties faces by
families who are brave enough to come forward for a legal battle. She also
emphasized that power imbalance causes families to compromise and leads
to social injustice.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN:

Considering the alarming situation, the Sindh education department has

recently announced to include a subject on harassment in order to spread
awareness among children and to educate them on protecting themselves.

A workshop on Child Protection Case Management and Referral System in

Pakistan is being organized by the Balochistan government in collaboration
with United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID)
and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) at a local hotel. It is the
first of its kind workshop being held to recommend ways to effectively
counter issues of child abuse in Pakistan.

According to the fact finding report of Human Rights Commission of

Pakistan (HRCP), Zainab was the 12th kidnapping case of minor girls since
October 2017. Pakistan executed Imran Ali Wednesday, the man convicted
of the killing a six-year-old girl in a murder that sparked outrage around the
world earlier this year. Zainab’s father, Amin Ansari, said Ali’s execution
Wednesday left him “satisfied,”

The Ministry of Human Rights supported by the European Union has

identified key priority areas to create awareness on the prevention,
protection and redress of issues related to the rights of the child. On
Thursday, 4th July 2019, the Ministry of Human Rights launched an
awareness campaign to educate people about Protecting Our Children:
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan.
The government is interested in creating behavior change through targeted
awareness campaigns, enforcing justice and making systemic change
through the establishment of institutions i.e. the National Commission on the
Rights of the Child.
Reported cases of child abuse increased by 11 per cent in year 2018
compared to 2017, with more than 10 children suffering some form of
abuse every day in Pakistan last year.
The Protect Our Children initiative aims to inform the public especially
families, care givers and parents about the importance of noticing the signs
 of child abuse so that children can be protected and supported in order to be
taken out of such situations.
Goodwill Ambassador for the Campaign, Shehzad Roy (Sitara -e- Imtiaz) in
his speech emphasized the need for such initiatives and also provided insight
on how important it is for the Pakistani society to notice the signs that child
survivors of abuse and exploitation express silently.
“We’ve come leaps and bounds in recent years by successfully advocating
for protection and preventive policies to combat child abuse. It is to be
hoped that now millions of children will be saved from abuse. There is
however a need for acceptance and ownership by the community and parents
in particular” said Roy in his key note address.
Federal Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) collaborated with children, the
key stakeholder, for legal and policy reforms to enforce child rights across
Pakistan, highlighting the positive outcomes of the synergy between the
Ministry and children.
Participating child representatives (Fariha Zamir and Qaiser Khan)
explained how those laws led to the establishment of pilot child courts in
provincial and federal capitals in the country, in collaboration with a
visionary judiciary.
Towards the end, the children pledged to continue their work with the
federal MoHR, combine efforts for juvenile justice reform, legislation,
building capacities and developing response mechanisms to contribute to the
overarching goal of promoting child rights and ensuring justice for children
in the country.

The participants of the event included Ambassadors and dignitaries from

various EU countries and UN Agencies as well as INGO, NGOs, Academia
and Civil Society Organizations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 https://propakistani.pk/2019/07/06/ministry-of-human-rights-focusing-on-protection-of-
children-from-child-abuse/
 https://nation.com.pk/10-Apr-2019/child-abuse-and-pakistan
 https://tribune.com.pk/kasur-scandal/
 https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/09/19/collective-negligence-fans-child-abuse-in-
kasur/
 https://au.reachout.com/articles/what-is-child-abuse
 https://www.government.nl/topics/child-abuse/what-is-child-abuse
 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/453063-data-on-child-abuse-3-832-cases-of-child-abuse-
reported-last-year