10 children sexually abused daily in Pakistan between January and June: report

• Sahil's latest report states that the average number of child abuse victims increased by two per day as compared to last year’s biannual report.
• 81 daily national and regional newspapers were monitored between January and June to collect data on child abuse.
• Report says that children from the age group 6-15 are most vulnerable to abuse.

More than 10 children were subjected to sexual abuse on average every day between January and June, a report by child protection organisation Sahil says.

The report, titled “Six Months Cruel Numbers 2021”, states that the average number of children subjected to abuse has increased by two children per day in comparison with the last year’s January-June report.

“This year, 81 daily national and regional newspapers were monitored during January-June 2021 to collect data on Child Sexual Abuse, Abduction, Missing Children, and the cases of Early Forced Marriages,” read the report.

According to the report, data collected from all four provinces of Pakistan including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), besides Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), showed that a total of 1,896 cases of child abuse were reported in the period.

Of these, 1,084 cases were of sexual abuse against children, 523 were cases of abduction, 238 cases of missing children, and 51 cases of child marriages.

The report further states that 53% (1,013) of the victims were girls and (883) 47% were boys.

It reveals that “children from the age group 6-15 are most vulnerable to abuse”.

As many as 640 children from the age bracket 11-15 years and 409 children from the age bracket 6-10 fell prey to different types abuse during the last six months, the report adds.

According to the report, in 1,045 cases, the abusers were acquaintances, while they were strangers in 430 cases, relatives in 49 cases, female abettors in 47 cases, seminary/school teachers in 38 cases, neighbours in 37 cases, and family members in 32 cases.

In addition to this, the data reveals that 60% of the total cases were reported from Punjab and 6% from the ICT.

The rest of the cases were reported from other provinces — 26% from Sindh, 5% from KPK, and 3% from Balochistan, and AJK & GB.

Of the total cases, 58% were reported from rural areas and 42% cases from urban areas.

Sahil has been working since 1996 on child protection, especially against child sexual abuse (CSA).

Sahil aims to develop a society and environment where every child should be safe, secure, and protected from abuse, especially from sexual abuse.