The Nation’s report about the largest-ever child abuse scandal in Pakistan’s history has shocked everyone. About 400 videos have been discovered, in which more than 280 children were forced to have sex in village Ganda Singh Wala of district Kasur, Punjab. Thousands of copies of the videos are believed to have been sold for Rs 50 each.

Most of the victims are under 14, but include a six-year-old boy who was forced to perform a homosexual act, and a 10-year-old schoolgirl who was filmed being molested by a 14-year-old boy. The scandal emerged when clash between 4,000 protesters and police took place after the latter refused to prosecute the people involved in orchestrating the scandal. It is disgraceful that child prostitution was being practiced in collaboration with some black sheep in the police department and a politician of the ruling party.  Punjab’s leading child protection official has demanded federal inquiry into this horrifying scandal to safeguard children rights in the future.  

According to a police statement the child abuse mafia began operating in 2006. Everyone in this village is a victim. Children, both boys and girls, are raped and blackmailed. The gang members filmed videotapes of the assaults to blackmail the children and their families for millions of rupees. To keep their ordeal secret, many of the children paid huge amounts of money to their abusers. One mother, aged 35, said she had to sell her gold ornaments to pay Rs.600,000 to the blackmailers for the videos of her 14-year-old son to be erased. The gang members were in clandestine contacts with paedophiles and gay porn site operators in the UK, USA and Europe. If any child or his family failed to pay required money, the members used to sell videos to the web operators.

In Pakistan, like many parts of the world, sexual abuse is the most pervasive form of violence against children. Sexual exploitation of children is a chronic, rampant evil that haunts our society; it reminds us that we have failed to protect our most vulnerable population, for a long time now.

In the late 1990s, the scandal of child sexual abuse had come to the fore in Lahore in which around 100 children were sexually abused and murdered. These inhuman activities take place very frequently in our society, and that too without any hesitation and fear – as if there is no existence of law that would punish the criminals. This is an undeniable fact that sexual activity with a child is a criminal and immoral act which can never be considered normal or socially acceptable. It is the worst case of human rights violation. Such attacks are the outcome and evidence of the existence of moral degradation, barbarism and savagery in our society.

Sexual exploitation of children such as trafficking, pornography and prostitution exists in all provinces of Pakistan, although it remains covert. Girls are more likely to be molested by family, acquaintances and neighbours whereas boys are more likely to be molested by teachers or total strangers. Approximately 76.5% of female prostitutes traditionally can be found as dancing girls although many can also be found in private homes. Due to poverty, the family, in order to generate income for its survival, is the primary contributing factor in forcing 36.6% of the children into a life of prostitution and sexual exploitation. The secondary pathway into prostitution and abuse are friends. 21% of the children made a personal decision to go into prostitution. Almost all the children were exhibiting symptoms of depression such as low self-esteem, guilt and self-blame, self-rejection, sadness, anger/frustration, and anxiety.  

In September 2014, UK newspaper The Daily Mail published a report highlighting that child sexual abuse in Pakistan is rife. An estimated four million children in the country are forced into work from an early age due to poverty and 90% of the 1.5 million children, who live on the streets, are easy prey for paedophiles and are sexually abused at some point in their lives.  A survey of 1,800 men found that a third not only rapes little boys but also believes it’s not a crime, or even a bad thing to do. A bus driver, who raped 12 little boys, doesn't think he's done anything wrong. The children, once abused, become criminals, drugs addicts and violent tempered. Ultimately they themselves become paedophiles.

There is utmost need of formulating high level inquiry commission comprising the people of high reputation and credibility to inquire into the largest-ever child abuse scandal in Pakistan’s history. The perpetrators of this vicious crime are monstrous and must be awarded harsh punishments. Besides, the government has to take up the responsibility for initiating concrete and stringent measures to stop the sexual abuse of children, and to safeguard them against all other forms of abuse.  A major national awareness campaign concerning the issue of children’s sexual exploitation needs to be developed and launched by the government in collaboration with civil society and child rights agencies.