The Punjab has demonstrated that it’s serious about tackling child sexual abuse. Of course, it’s criminal that it has taken so long for us to get here; and that, too, not before the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl captured the public imagination and everyone said, no more. Never again. But credit where credit is (over)due. After all, this represents veritable progress as compared to those heady days of ‘enlightened moderation’ which saw one particular Islamabad-based NGO blacklisted for allegedly spreading obscene material. When, in fact, the reality was rather different. It had been handing out anonymous questionnaires — to both the girl and boy child — in a bid to ascertain how many children in the area had been molested. So yes, we support the provincial government’s age-appropriate eight-page booklet, Secure Children, Strong Pakistan. This is meant to gently introduce young children (up to the age of 10) to the subject of sexual abuse and the ways in which they can protect themselves; while also identifying areas of responsibility on the part of both parents and teachers. The booklet is to be updated where necessary every six to 12 months. And it will find its way into each and every school as well as all the 53,000 mosques in the province. Though the government hasn’t said how it will reach out to the latter as well as to those seminaries that aren’t registered with the authorities. And given the high literacy rates in the Punjab and elsewhere in Pakistan — we hope that an audio version might soon be made available; and that this as well as the printed material will be replicated in other provinces in the relevant indigenous languages. Thus far, the information contained in the booklet hasn’t been made public. Nevertheless, experts have stressed that the key must remain instilling confidence and assertiveness among children. Those tasked with educating children about sexual abuse also need to be trained in this regard. While there is a lot riding on this initiative, we are aware that it would be imprudent to expect results overnight. This is but the first step in a long journey that is expected to take generations before we can even begin to gauge its impact. But that shouldn’t deter us; rather, it should only strengthen our resolve. And now that the Punjab government has got the ball rolling — it’s up to civil society and the media to make sure that the subject of child sexual abuse isn’t forgotten as soon as votes are counted. * Published in Daily Times, February 6th 2018.