The Kasur Incident of Child Abuse: A Fact Funding Report; Analyzing State of Child Protection in Pakistan

Abstract

An incident was surfaced in media nationally and internationally in 2015 where large number of children was sexually abused. Pakistan is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and has also ratified Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. The reports finds that Pakistan lacks internationally accepted rights based child protection mechanism at national, provincial and local level. National and provincial laws and policies on child protection are inadequate. Child sexual abuse, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography are dealt indirectly in national and provincial laws. Denial and repression are also evident in the current state of legislation on child sexual abuse in Pakistan. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has taken serious notice of the report and directed federal and provincial governments to implement its recommendations which led to adoption of Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2015 aimed at protecting children from mental and physical abuse. Amongst major amendments, the act raises the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 10 years and the upper age limit from 12 to 14 years. Moreover, it protects children from cruel treatment and criminalizes child pornography.