Daily Times

Same-sex child abuse is an act of coerce violence committed by older men on underage boys. It is an overlooked, abysmal part of Pakistan’s crime culture. We often cite females in the media as prime victims of child abuse however, the shelved stories of young males are seldom brought to light. The trend is gradually changing with social media debunking the ugly side of a long overdue problem. Since 2017, the incidents of same-sex child abuse have mounted. According to a DAWN report published in February this year, male coal miners residing in Shahrag, Baluchistan have hired young boys for self-pleasure. Heavily populated by Pashtuns, minors fall prey to sexual advances every day.

Business Recorder stated that 1,738 juvenile males that make nearly half of the total 3,832 were victims of sexual violence last year. BBC Urdu found 7,242 boys sexually abused from 2013 until early 2019 in Pakistan. The non-governmental organization Sahil reported that 10 children per day were subject to sexual abuse in 2018. A man molested and murdered a seven-year old in Marchabad while an 11-year old boy was gang raped by three adult men in Taxila. Similarly, in Rawalpindi’s Razzaq Town, four men repeatedly abused an innocent teenager. Another man alleged of raping and filming a 17-year old in Mandi Bahauddin made headlines last month. It is also important to reconsider our trust in the law enforcement because a case involved the Lahore police for torturing an 8-year old minor while in custody.

There is no end to the issue of child sexual abuse because we have chosen not to do anything about it. There is a difference between reporting a problem and solving it for the betterment of our children and their future. Although child protection laws exist in Pakistan including the Criminal Laws Amendment Bill, the National Commission on the Rights of Children Bill and the Charter on the Child Rights Bill, their effects are minimal.

As evidenced above, perpetrators across Pakistan have not receded from violating the freedom of children, specifically innocent young boys. We immediately associate brutality with girls without forethought that abuse can go beyond the female gender. It is high time we realize that underage males are no longer safe as we consider them to be.

It is the responsibility of parents to run background checks of who they hire as domestic help. There are alternatives to keeping children safe; for instance, developing the habit of engaging in household activities such as reading instead of playing cricket or football is the safest of all options because it enables creative learning. It further prevents children from traps set up by male predators in the neighborhood that can lead to abuse and consequently affect their personality and future. The imprints left on children post violence pose a greater threat to their social development. We would be better off discussing same-sex child abuse than choosing to ignore it simply because it is a shameful topic. It is a question of our coming generations. The only group of people we should feel disgust for are the culprits of sexual violence, who walk freely, while our children suffer for life.

The writer is a freelancer