KARACHI: Joint efforts to combat child abuse urged
KARACHI, Dec 17: A multi-disciplinary approach is needed to combat sexual abuse of children in Pakistan, Dr Ghaffar Billo, chairman of the Paediatrics Department of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, said while speaking at a seminar on ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ here on Tuesday.
The seminar was organized jointly by the Aga Khan University, Madadgaar, Child Health Interest Group and AKUSON on the eve of the Universal Children’s Day.
Dr Billo said that paediatricians, general physicians, psychologist, health visitors, police, legal advisors and all other concerned should work as a team in order to contain the menace of the sexual abuse of children in the country.
He, however, pointed out that definition of child abuse varied according to places and cultures. Elaborating, he added, the definition of the term in a society like Europe differed from its definition in a Pakistani society. Similarly, he said, the definition varied in nature and environment.
“For example in Pakistan parents beat their children in order to make them obedient but the same treatment in UK is regarded as offence and the children could seek police help on ‘helpline 999’,” he said.
Madadgaar — Pakistan’s first helpline for children and protection service for children and women — has been observing Child Rights Week (Dec 16-21) to create awareness about the child rights.
Speaking at the seminar, Ayesha Mehnaz, President of Pakistan Paediatric Association, Sindh, said that until a couple of years back, sexual abuse of child was a taboo subject in the Pakistani society and people believed that there existed no concept of such an abuse.
SHE SAID: “We have broken the myth and started discussing this sensitive issue.” She raised various relevant questions and asserted: “We have to find out answers in order to combat the heinous crime.”
She identified different forms of child sexual abuse as passing of indecent remarks and comments, kiss, sensual touch, fondling, exhibitionism, sexual relationship, sexual exploitation through commercials, etc. She claimed that about 74 per cent of children were victimized by their acquaintances like relatives, teachers and domestic workers.
Dr Zeenat Issani, Director of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), said that child sexual abuse prevailed in East and West alike. “It leave long-term psychological effects on the victim’s personality,” she added and observed that medico-legal officers (MLOs) often did not realize the actual causes of injury in such cases as they did not try to go through the history of the victim child.
She, however, pointed out that in an eastern society, joint family system provided protection to children.
Dr Issani further observed that most of the abuse victims appeared having lost faith and could not disclose their agony. She said they felt that any disclosure might bring misery to them even worse than the abuse.
Zia Ahmed Awan, President of the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, in his presentation on ‘Law and Child Sexual Abuse’ lamented that Pakistan had certain laws that cover commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).—PPI
