Daily Times

Recently a scandal about harassment of students by teachers in a private school surfaced in Punjab. Amid lot of statements and evidences, provincial government also shunted in promising a fair investigation and punishment to all accused teachers. This case of harassment by the depraved is not a unique or one of fewer cases of perversion in our society. Every now and then we come across lot of sad incidents where crimes are committed by perverts against vulnerable people. The spectrum of this corruption is very broad which ranges from seemingly benign gestures to murders and rape. In seemingly benign cases on one end of spectrum we find Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) trying to deal with complaints (mostly by women) against harassment and threats in cyberspace. Few are caught while majority remains at large due to technical difficulties to track such predators. On the other hand we come across crimes committed against women even young children of both gender on daily basis. Unforgettable criminalities committed by a serial child murderer against over a hundred of innocent children in Lahore and video scandals surfaced few years back in Kasur (Punjab) are two amongst countless incidents that have marked an ugly print on memory of society on the whole.

While we hear about a lot of shameful crimes committed around us, this social disease or abnormality is not specific to a particular country, geography or a race. Statistics of crimes committed by perverts even in most developed countries are amongst the highest. Some time back in Japan a 31-year-old middle school teacher was convicted of sexual harassment for using his mobile phone to record about 240 women largely in the school and on subways for more than two years. In another incident in Japan, a man in his 40s was indicted for covertly filming 221 women in eight years. The offender made a tiny hole in his shoe and hid a micro-camera inside it, later posting the photos and video clips on a website. He was not detained and allowed to walk free. In another most modern and developed country, a 43 year old coffee shop owner installed an automobile black box camera inside the restroom. The motion-sensing camera recorded over 900 people. If we recall we had a similar incident that occurred in an internet café in Rawalpindi in 2005. Such incidents are some times reported from much unexpected yet highly secured corridors of power. In 1989, a homosexual prostitution ring was investigated by federal and District authorities in United States. The suspects and perpetrators included key officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations, military officers, congressional aides and foreign businessmen with close social ties to Washington’s political elite. Investigations revealed that videotapes, audio tapes and still photographs were made of all acts performed by these highly placed officials and the call boys, recording their perverted acts.

The general population or society determines deviant behavior or crimes. Yet the responsibility for this determination of criminal behavior and grooming of an individual falls on the family

Perversion is a concept describing those types of human behavior that deviate in a destructive way, from that which is understood to be normal. Human behavior is more complex and more diverse, to be understood through any theory or any impression of a social scientist. Although pervert behavior can refer to a variety of forms of deviation, it is most often used to describe sexual behaviors that are considered particularly abnormal, repulsive, obsessive and even criminal. Prostitution, homosexuality, rape, child abuse, murders, all sort of fetishes, voyeurism, sadism and even gang affiliation and drug abuse are few examples from the too long list of pervert behavior. From seemingly benign to most horrifying there are about 549 variants exhibited by perverts. These crimes have a caustic influence which affects the emotional stability of normal persons. Why such crimes happen? It is not an easy question to be answered. So this question must be left for specialists in relevant field. However, it can be safely assessed that entire issue of moral corruption revolves around personality of a person and his family that imprint all of internalized moral standards and ideals that one acquires from both parents and the society. It is the family and society that instills one’s sense of right and wrong. Certain aspects of personality are entirely subconscious and comprises of the instinctive and primitive behaviors. But most of information about things that are viewed as bad by parents and society are programmed into an individual as a child where he identifies the behavior which is often forbidden, lead to bad consequences and punishments. The general population or society determines deviant behavior or crimes. Yet the responsibility for this determination of criminal behavior and grooming of an individual falls on the family. In a society where family is broken or under any tremendous state of pressures, anxiety, stress or tension, this behavioral balance stands knocked out thus causing most heinous crimes committed by people. Unfortunately in our society as well the once ideal family unit is under abundant pressures and stress. The morals and standards of morality in our society have changed. Crimes like corruption have become accepted practices. In addition there is an abundance of evidence to sustain the conclusion that indulgence of people in acts of perversion weakens the moral fabric of entire society and has a corrosive effect on entire culture. Being an Islamic republic it is a matter of shame for us that Pakistan had outranks many countries in Google searches for pornographic terms. A pervert has tendency to gather other perverts around himself as it is natural inclination to search for his own kind because the pressures of society. Such groups lure normal individuals to engage in distorted practices.

It is paramount that as a family we should educate our young ones. It is as simple as educating a child about wearing a helmet while riding a bike or teaching him or her to look both ways before crossing a road. Persons who engage in such criminal activities need to be identified and punished. Necessary legislation should be enacted and strict punishments be prescribed to deter predators. State institutions such as Police, Federal Investigation Agency etc. should train their officers about psychological aspects of behavior and how such criminals are to be dealt with. Society can become safe for our children only if we realize the threat and do what so ever is necessary to mitigate it.

The writer is versatile analyst and speaker on contemporary issues