perspective- child protection - Page 6

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal institutes and jails of Punjab province was 645 as on 15 March 2022 (Prisons Department, Govt. of Punjab). Out of the total number of juvenile offenders, 81% (523) juveniles were on trial (under trial) and 19% were convicted juvenile offenders. All juvenile offenders were male and no female…

Permitted age for employment of children as domestic workers

Do you know what the minimum age is for children in the different provinces of Pakistan to be employed as domestic workers? Child labour is a provincial subject in Pakistan after the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. The 18th Constitutional Amendment devolved the issue of labour and employment to the…

Ghost Schools

KARACHI: Apropos the letter “Ghost Teachers” published on September 19, 2024, the…

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 and Jinnah

The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 was drafted by Quaid-i-Azam- Mohammad Ali…

Rape And Low Conviction

Pakistan’s low conviction rates for sexual assault highlight the urgent need for legal reform and victim protection. Sexual assault remains a massive problem in Pakistan, where a worryingly high offence rate pairs with an abysmal conviction rate, creating a recipe for disaster. Reliable data on sexual assault and related crimes…

Child Abuse At Work

Child workers in Pakistan face abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Stricter laws and actions are essential The suffering of child workers, especially in domestic households, is a harsh reminder of society’s failure to protect its most vulnerable members. In Pakistan, many children face severe physical and mental abuse, with their pain…

Karachi’s Missing Children

The Karachi police have no leads in at least 230 cases of children that have gone missing since January 2023. Meanwhile, a total of 2,066 cases relating to missing or kidnapped children have been registered since January 2023, with 1,828 of them being recovered safely. Data shared at a top-level…

Protecting Our Children

Violence against children remains a widely prevalent scourge in Pakistan, despite the best efforts of activists and NGOs and several government interventions. While the country has a reasonable legal framework to safeguard children’s rights, local ‘culture’ and ‘traditions’ mean it is not uncommon to see well-kept child workers in the…

Countering Cybercrime

THE new National Cyber Crime & Investigation Authority appears to have landed in limbo, with the authorities apparently unsure about what purpose they expect to see it fulfil. According to a news report in this paper, the government has formally repealed the rules devised to govern the body, leaving its…

Fabricated?

The recent incident involving the alleged rape of a college student in Lahore has spiralled into a troubling saga of misinformation, protests and official inquiries. Following social media reports claiming that a young female student was sexually assaulted at a girls’ college in Gulberg, protests erupted, reflecting widespread outrage and…

Protecting Children

THIS country’s children make the news for unfortunate reasons. At the core of their plight is the state’s inability to recognise that child rights violations indicate administrative failure and a rejection of our young ones’ existence. The Anti-Kidnap for Ransom Unit of the Lahore Organised Crime Unit and the Azad…

Innocence Lost

29 kidnapped children rescued in Pakistan’s Kotli district highlight the urgent need for anti-trafficking measures. Child trafficking remains a pressing issue in Pakistan, with thousands of vulnerable children falling victim to this heinous crime every year. The recent recovery of 29 kidnapped children from the Kotli district underscores the urgent…

Rising Rape

MISOGYNY is the bane of women’s lives across the globe as it robs them of autonomy over their bodies. This is reflected in the latest Unicef estimates that include global and regional assessments on sexual violence against children; they show that over 370m women and girls endured rape or sexual…

Saving Our Children

In 2018, the horrific Zainab rape and murder case shocked the nation, prompting leaders to promise a safer environment for children. Yet, five years later, the situation remains dire. Recent reports of six boys rescued from their abusers by Punjab police reveal that children in Pakistan continue to be at…