Daily Times

Sir: The evil of child abuse exists in almost all societies. Child maltreatment consists of all forms of physical, emotional and sexual abuses. Children are often neglected and publicly exploited, which can cause severe harm to their physical and mental health. Physical abuse is one of the major issues. It mostly involves hitting, snatching, slapping, spanking, etc. There are some other non-physical forms of punishment such as verbal abuse, threats and ridicule against children. Another form of child maltreatment is sexual abuse which can cause emotional trauma. Sexual abuse involves the mistreatment of children with the purpose of gratifying or satisfying the needs of an adult. A 2.27 percent increase in sexual abuse cases reported last year depicts how vulnerable children are to sexual assaults. The situation is grimmer because many child abuse incidents are not reported to the police due to the involvement of the victim’s acquaintances, family pressures or shame. Moreover, many incidents are committed by a relative, which increases the chance that the incident will not be reported. A scan of the country’s 65 national and regional newspapers showed that at an average three children aged below 17 were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on a daily basis last year. Among them the number of girl victims was high. In 2013, among the abused children, 72 percent were girls. The 79 percent of child abuse cases were reported in Punjab, which is the most populous province in the country. Sindh follows with 10 percent of reported cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with four percent, Islamabad and Baluchistan both reported three percent of child abuse cases. Parents and guardians make all the difference in the lives of maltreated children. Parents must develop an understanding and a close relationship with children. It is extremely important to educate young children about sexual harassment. Parents need to explain to children that improper touching is not allowed by anyone and it is absolutely unacceptable. Parents must always keep the lines of communication open with children and observe the behaviour of people who are around their children. Always ask for references and double check the character of people before allowing children to interact with them. For example, tutoring sessions with teachers and religious instructors should always take place with open doors and in common areas. Teach the child not to accept any drink or edibles from strangers and not to consume edibles that may taste or smell odd. Parents should make the child memorize all important numbers. Parents need to prepare and inform children of a safety plan that gives generalized guidelines as to what steps they need to take in an event of violence or sexual abuse. Children should be aware of a safe place they can go to in a dangerous situation like a friend’s house, police station or public area. Laws need to be implemented to prevent child abuse cases more effectively. This will hopefully decrease the number of child abuse cases and would overall improve the quality of life in Pakistan.

IRAM AURANZAIB

Lahore