LAHORE: Reports on child protection show that child abuse has been on the increase in recent years in Punjab, particularly in cases of abduction, missing children, physical and sexual violence and child marriages, said the chief of field office, Unicef Punjab, Abdullahi Mohammad Yusuf.

He was speaking at an advocacy event arranged by Unicef, Social Welfare Department, National Commission of Human Rights and Children Advo-cacy Network to discuss issue of child protection.

Mr Yusuf commended the Punjab government for the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act (PDNCA) 2004 but added that it was not sufficient to address all issues.

“It is strongly recommended that the Punjab government introduce a comprehensive legislative framework and administrative arrangement to address all forms of child abuse.

“A child protection case management and referral system must be established and coordination between departments and other stakeholders must be streamlined.”

Mr Yusuf said the UNCRC Committee, through its concluding observations on 5th Pakistan report in 2016, had recommended establishing effective mechanism to receive, monitor and investigate reports of cases of child abuse, including interventions and referral where necessary, prosecuting perpetrators in a manner that was child sensitive and ensuring privacy of the victims. He said progress on this recommendation was slow at Punjab level.

Provincial Minister of Social Welfare Department Muhammad Ajmal Cheema said there was a huge gap between educated and uneducated classes, which had made it difficult to spread awareness.

“It is the media that must play its role in highlighting issues of child abuse and rights by focusing on these two sections of society,” he said.

Child rights activist Iftikhar Mubarik demanded the government raise the minimum age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years. He said the labour inspection system must be strengthened to effectively implement the laws to control child labour.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018