ISLAMABAD – Because of successive governments’ failure in introducing any national policy on child protection coupled with ineffective laws safeguarding children’s interests, violence against children in Pakistan has increased manifold with 5,120 reported cases during last year alone.
During a one-day orientation workshop here on Tuesday experts stressed the need to approve pending child protection laws and enforce implementation of the existing ones.
The workshop was organised by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) to highlight the importance of suggestions presented in the United Nations (UN)’s study on violence against children (2006). National Violence Against Children Programme Manager Imtiaz Ahmed highlighted the increased cases of violence with a prevalence of child domestic labourers, early child marriages, child sexual abuse and harmful traditional practices.
He said there was a need to eliminate social acceptance of violence against children. Ahmed said the existing law on human trafficking only addressed external trafficking and there was no law addressing the internal trafficking of children, adding that in the absence of a national policy to protect children, in Islamabad alone seven children lost their lives. He demanded amendment in Section 89 of the penal code that allowed “reasonable punishment” for children.
“As this term is not defined clearly, it is being misused,” he said. SPARC Executive Director Arshad Mahmood said violence against children, in all its forms including physical, sexual, and psychological, was a concern in Pakistan. “Successive governments have failed to introduce any national policy on child protection. There are numerous laws safeguarding children’s interest but poor or no implementation has left them ineffective,” said Mahmood.
“The Charter of Child Rights Bill (Domestic Legislation), The Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, National Commission on the Rights of Children (NCRC) Bill, all these bills are still waiting for adoption,” said the director. SPARC Assistant Programme Manager for Violence Against Children, Gulnaz Zahid presented the suggestions and recommendations from the UN study on violence against children.
