KARACHI, Oct 7: At least 83 children, including 35 girls, became victim of sexual abuse in Sindh this year, according to the figures compiled by a child rights group.

The compilers said the data included all reported cases, otherwise, the unreported incidents must form bigger chunk of the menace.

The actual number of such cases is believed to be much high as most of the cases are not reported due to social and cultural taboos, said Akhtar Hussain Baloch, an official of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.

The report says children are mostly sexually exploited by close relatives, influential landlords, teachers and step-fathers.

It says six men gang raped 16-year-old Naseema and forced her to march after stripping off her clothes in her village near Ubavro in January because one of her cousins had eloped with a young woman from an influential family of the area.

According to Mr Baloch, a fact-finding mission from his organisation visited the parents of a child who was sexually harassed by his religious teacher, in March 2007. Abid Hussain, the victim’s father, informed the team that he had sent his son to the mosque for religious education. One day, the child informed him that he had been regularly sodomized by his teacher and was threatened not to disclose it.

Rights activists said cases of sexual abuse are as common in urban areas as in the rural areas of Sindh. A girl was raped by her first cousin in Moosa Colony. Police later arrested the 18-year-old accused, Usman, who confessed that he brought home his six-year-old cousin from his uncle’s residence and raped her.

On Sept 26, a 15-year-old girl had left her house to run errands in Mauripur when she was kidnapped and gang raped by three persons.

According to the Article 19 of Child Rights Convention, state parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational steps to protect the child from all forms of physical and mental violence, including sexual abuse, while he/she is in the care of parents, guardians or any other person.

Mr Baloch said, Pakistan had ratified the CRC on November 12, 1990 but it is yet to be implemented.