At least 1,914 cases of child abuse were reported across Pakistan in first six months between January and June this year, according to the latest “Cruel Numbers’’ report released by Sahil, a non-profit organisation working on child protection since 1996. This translates into 11 children reported as victims of abuse in Pakistan every single day, according to Sahil’s latest report.
The organisation compiles such report twice a year using media monitoring as its primary data source, meaning the actual number of cases is likely higher than what is captured through newspaper reports. The report is based on data collected from 81 English, Urdu and regional newspapers across all four provinces, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Gilgit Baltistan.
It tracks cases of child sexual abuse, abduction, missing children and early marriages reported during the first six months. The number marks a slight decline from the 1,956 cases recorded during the same period last year, according to a report in the portal voicepk.net.
Of the total cases, 1,015 involved child sexual abuse, while 558 were cases of abduction. Another 101 cases involved children reported missing, and 35 involved child marriages. The report also recorded 98 cases of pornography linked to sexual abuse, and noted that 49 of the reported cases involved infants found abandoned by the roadside.
Girls more affected but boys make significant share
Girls accounted for 58 per cent of the victims and boys for 42 per cent. In cases specifically involving pornography following sexual abuse, however, the pattern was reversed: boys made up 59 per cent of victims compared to 41 per cent girls.
According to the report, children falling in the age group of 11 to 15 years were the most vulnerable. They accounted for 598 of the reported cases, or roughly 31 per cent of the total, a little less than one-third of the total numbers. This was followed by children aged between 16 and18 (356 cases) and those aged between 6 and 10 (329 cases).
In horrific details regarding the cases of child abuse, very small children of five or lesser age, 95 cases were recorded. In 487 cases, the victim’s age was not mentioned in the reporting except that they were minors.
Abduction tops the list of crime categories
Broken down by crime category, abduction was the most commonly reported offence, making up 29 per cent of all cases, followed by rape and sodomy combined at 28 per cent. Missing children accounted for a further 7 per cent of the cases. The report also recorded smaller numbers of cases involving a combination of offences, such as abduction with rape, gang rape, incest, and child marriage, among others.
The data shows that in 43 per cent of cases, the abuser was someone known to the child or their family, while strangers were involved in 34 per cent of cases. In the remaining 13 per cent, the abuser’s identity or relationship to the victim was not specified in the media reports.
Religious teachers were one category of abusers identified in a significant number of cases. Older boys in madrasas were also often involved in sodomy and such other cases reported from these institutions. It was often very young and young boys from poor families who were found to be victims of religious teachers and older boys.
Homes no safe zone for child abuse victims
Nearly half of all cases, around 45 per cent, took place at the victim’s own home, and 18 per cent occurred at the residence of the abusers. Only 3 per cent cases happened in open fields, while the location was not specified in 21 per cent of cases.
Geographically, Punjab accounted for 80 per cent of all reported cases, followed by Sindh at 15 per cent. The remaining 5 per cent were spread across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, islamabad region, POJK and GB.
Out of a total of 89 districts covered in the report, 10 stood out as the most vulnerable. Faisalabad recorded the highest number of cases at 337, followed by Multan (185), Lahore (121), Gujranwala (111), Kasur (110), Rahim Yar Khan (97), Rawalpindi (78), Vehari (70), Sialkot (64) and Toba Tek Singh (61). The report also found that 57 per cent of cases were reported from urban areas compared to 43 per cent from rural areas.
Most cases registered with police
According to the report, 89 per cent of the reported cases were formally registered with the police. In 11 per cent of cases, the registration status was not mentioned in media reports, while seven cases remained unregistered. In one case, police reportedly refused to register a complaint.
Sahil has been working on child protection in Pakistan since 1996, with a focus on preventing child sexual abuse and providing legal support to survivors and their families. ing alone.The organisation compiles its Cruel Numbers report twice a year using media monitoring as its primary data source, meaning the actual number of cases is likely higher than what is captured through newspaper report
