In the first 6 months of this year, more than 2,000 children were victims of sexual violence, report

Lahore: In the report of the NGO working against violence against children, it has been stated that 2 thousand 227 children have been subjected to sexual violence in Pakistan during the first 6 months of this year, while 12 children are victims of sexual violence every day. are

The report of non-governmental organization Sahil revealed that 1207 girls and 1020 boys were victims of sexual violence from January 1 to June 30 this year. These incidents show that 12 children have been victims of sexual violence every day from January 2023 to June this year.

Provincial Coordinator of Sahil, Element Sajjad Bhatti, while explaining the details of the report, said that during the first 6 months of the year, 4 cases of child marriage were reported, while a case of abduction of a girl child came to light. 22 boys and girls were subjected to sexual violence in seminaries.

In this way, sexual violence was done in hospitals, hotels, cars, clinics, colleges, factories, prisons, police stations, marriage halls, graveyards and many other places. During 6 months, the highest number of cases of sexual violence against children was in Punjab province totaling 1648 children, 314 children in Sindh province, 24 in Balochistan province, 161 children in federal capital Islamabad, 4 children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. Being a victim of sexual violence.

Out of the incidents that took place between January and June 2023, 1969 incidents were reported at the police station while 8 incidents were not reported at all. 17 incidents were not reported by the police while 233 incidents were not reported in various newspapers with complete information.

Between January and June, 53 incidents of pornography have taken place. During this time, 963 incidents took place in which children’s lives were in danger. 760 children died, 265 children drowned, 148 children were killed and 144 children had accidents. According to the report, 96 children were subjected to sexual violence in Lahore during January to June 2023.

Sahil has suggested that a child safety cell should be established in every district of Punjab to prevent violence against children and provide free colony support. Awareness campaign to prevent sexual violence against children should be conducted under an effective strategy. New laws related to children should be made and further improvements should be made within the existing laws and implementation of the existing laws should be ensured. Effective support systems should be established for the rehabilitation of children affected by sexual violence. Child safety messages should be made a regular part of children’s curriculum.