J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 212 

Open Access 
 

A Review of Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan Based on Data from 

“Sahil” Organization 
 

Muhammad Abdullah Avais1, Hamida Narijo2, Mike Parker 
1 Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Sindh Jamshoro, Pakistan 

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Sindh Jamshoro, Pakistan  
3 Medical Statistician 

 

A B S T R A C T  

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is an unrevealed but an alarming issue in every civilized society. This paper examines the 

reported incidents of child sexual abuse in Pakistan. Its primary goal is to assess the currently available data on incidents  

of CSA in Pakistan from 2010 to 2016, while the specific objective is to understand the magnitude, as well as nature and 

context of the problem. Data on CSA from 2010 to 2016 were collected from the "annual cruel numbers" of the "Sahil" 

organization, which revealed that incidents of CSA have increased in Pakistan since 2010. The data show that 2,252 

incidents of CSA (Boys 606 and Girls 1,646) occurred in 2010 and a larger number, 4,139 incidents (Boys 1,729 and Girls 

2,410), occurred in 2016. Most of the survivors belonged to the Punjab province of Pakistan (1,723 out of 2,252 in 2010 

and 2,676 out of 4,139 in 2016). Most abusers were acquaintances of their victims (3,964 in 2010 and 1,829 in 2016). 

The majority of incest cases were observed in 2012 (144 cases).  The victim's home was a place of abuse in most incidents 

(306 incidents in 2010 and 594 in 2016). Government, as well as non -governmental organizations, should raise 

awareness of CSA. Furthermore, religious leaders must play their role to curb occurrence of CSA by  preaching about its 

religious implications. 

 

Key words: Children, Incest, Incidents, Pakistan, Sahil organization, Sexual victimization  

Authors’ Contribution: 
1-3Conception; Literature search; 
Manuscript design and drafting; Critical 
analysis and Manuscript review; Manuscript 
editing. 

Correspondence: 

Muhammad Abdullah Avais  
Email: abdullahawais77@yahoo.com 

Article info: 

Received:  October 5, 2019 
Accepted: September 25, 2020 

Cite this article.  Avais MA, Narijo H, Parker M. A Review of Child Sexual Abuse in Pakistan 
Based on Data from “Sahil” Organization. J Islamabad Med Dental Coll. 2020; 9(3): 212-218. 
Doi: 10.35787/jimdc.v9i3.412 
 

Funding Source: Nil 
Conflict of Interest: Nil 

 

I n t r o d u c t i o n  

Half of the children across the world are exposed to 

violence every year.1 The culprit's violence and 

survivor's trauma, along with its consequences, are 

commonly obscured from the public view. 2 Child 

sexual abuse (CSA) is an unrevealed but an alarming 

issue in every civilized society.3 In this era of  

 

globalization, there is a need for designating time to 

educate and empower the most vulnerable in 

society against abuse from strangers and their 

teachers and relatives.4 The frequency of such 

offenses are increasing. There are daily reports, in 

either local or national newspapers, about different 

types of child abuse. Some of these stories seem 

R E V I E W A R TI C LE  



 

                J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 213 

improbable because of the cruelty and inhumane 

torture described. It can seem unbelievable that 

some fathers are found to be involved in abusing 

their own children, that teachers harass their 

students, that women batter boys, and that 

employees try to hire uneducated, unskilled young 

children below the age of maturity. These types of 

child abuse have not been reported for multiple 

reasons, such as family pressure, poverty, 

negligence of parents, social barriers, and political 

influence of offenders.5,6 South Asia has 23% of the 

world's population and is also known as the world's 

most impoverished region. In many countries of 

South Asia, such as Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, 

and Bangladesh, child labor, child trafficking, child 

prostitution, and child sexual abuse are common 

problems.7 

There are many forms of violence against children; 

psychological, sexual, emotional, and physical 

abuse. Physical anger directed towards a child by an 

adult is an example of physical abuse.8 Child sexual 

abuse (CSA) is a form of child abuse in which an adult 

or older adolescent sexually stimulates a child. 9 Child 

sexual abuse consists of different forms, such as 

forcing a child to be engaged in sexual activities,  

showing pornographic material to a child, sexual 

intercourse/attempted intercourse with a child, 

viewing of the child's genitalia with or without 

physical contact, or using a child for prostitution or 

pornography.8-10 

In 2011, 50 police officials were found to be 

perpetrators of CSA in Pakistan, and 10 of them used 

official residential quarters of police for their 

offenses. Similarly, 155 officials were involved in CSA 

in 2012, and 13 cases were committed in police 

stations, with five children being sexually abused in 

police lockups in 2013.11 Depression, 

unemployment, physical and mental illness, poor 

socialization or trouble in socialization are common 

factors seen in perpetrators.12-14  Different taboos 

such as the claimed curative powers of virgins are 

often reasons stated or believed by perpetrators for 

the CSA.13,15,16 

This paper examines the reported incidents of child 

sexual abuse in Pakistan. Its primary goal is to assess 

the currently available data on incidents of CSA in 

Pakistan from 2010 to 2016, while the specific 

objective is to understand the magnitude, as well as 

nature and context of the problem. The research 

employs an exploratory approach using secondary 

data. The data for CSA from 2010 to 2016 were 

obtained from "Sahil" organization, a non-

governmental organization working on creating a 

society free from all forms of violence, especially 

child sexual abuse. The Sahil organization is 

functional through its head office in Islamabad, the 

capital of Pakistan and has four regional offices. 

Through the monitoring of 91 local and national 

newspapers at its head and regional offices, along 

with help from volunteers, the organization collects 

the data of CSA on an annual basis and, after 

compilation at its head office, Sahil publishes a 

report on "cruel numbers" on an yearly basis. 

D i s c u s s i o n  

According to the World Health Organization (2006),  

CSA is "the involvement of a child in sexual activity 

that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable 

to give informed consent to, or for which the child is 

not developmentally prepared, or else that violates 

the laws or social taboos of society."32 Commonly, 

the perpetrators of sexual abuse are predominantly 

male.33  

In 2006, a report on the prostitution of Pakistani 

boys at Lahore and Peshawar recognized that 

society strongly condemned the relationship 

between a male and female without marriage, while 

affection between males, either social or physical, 

was socially tolerated.34 There are no accurate 

statistics regarding CSA in Pakistan, but it is 

estimated that sexual abuse mostly affects girls  



 

                J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 214 

(19%) compared to boys (14%).35 In India, 52% of 

school-going children were sexually abused, and 

89% of perpetrators were family members. 36,37 In 

2017, Sahil NGO computed 3445 cases of CSA from 

91 national and local Pakistani newspapers.38 In 

Rawalpindi/Islamabad, 17% of 300 school-going 

children were survivors of CSA (1 in 7 girls and 1 in 5 

boys), and the majority of victims (72%) were below 

the age of 13 years.38 Close acquaintances of the 

victims were found to be  involved in 80% of CSA 

cases.39,40 Across the globe, regardless of religion 

and culture, 40-60% of known sexual assaults were 

committed by family members, and the victims were 

girls belonging to the age group 15 years or 

younger.41 

In Pakistan, like other South Asian countries, Child 

mobility, poverty, inadequate education, weak rule 

of law, and child labor are common factors behind 

the CSA or child exploitation.42 

Child sexual abuse is probably a less acknowledged 

and less explored form of abuse in Pakistan because 

people hesitate to open a Pandora's Box of 

problems. Nevertheless, child sexual abuse has been 

present in Pakistan since the date of its national 

independence since 1947. These incidents produce 

long-lasting effects on both society and victims. 

Although child sexual abuse exists in Pakistani 

society, it is nevertheless a taboo subject. In 

Pakistan, it is easy to talk about sex, but talking 

about sexuality is regarded as immoral. The number 

of survivors of CSA is increasing day by day, and from 

January 2010 to December 2016, a total of 21,760 

cases of CSA were reported.  

The number of reported incidents of Child Sexual 

Abuse in Pakistan from 2010 to 2016 showed an 

upward trend with increase in number of cases from 

2010 to 2016 (Figure 1). The number of cases in the 

year 2010 was 2,252, with 2,303 incidents reported 

in 2011, 2,788 incidents in 2012, 3,002 incidents in 

2013, 3,508 incidents in 2014, 3,768 incidents in 

2015, and 4,139 incidents in 2016. 

The gender-specific distribution of reported cases of 

CSA from 2010 to 2016 is shown in Figure 2. The 

number of abused girls was approximately 2.5 times 

more than boys from 2010 to 2013, however the 

number of boys increased steadily from 2014 to 

2016. 

 
Figure 1: Number of CSA incidents from 2 010 to 2016 

 

Figure 2: Grouping of survivors by gender 

Figure 3 shows the distribution of incidents of CSA 

by province, with the majority of cases taking place 

in Punjab. The actual figure may be higher than 

those reported since, due to honor and to avoid 

defaming a whole family, parents try not to share 

the incident with anyone. Therefore, sometimes 

they blame the survivors. Similarly, due to fear, 

sometimes survivors do not share the details of 

incidents with their parents, so these cases go 



 

                J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 215 

unreported. These figures are indicative of the 

values of any civilized society. 

 

 
Figure 3: Province wise distribution of survivors 

Althugh most of CSA cases were register with the 

police, it failed to decrease the number of cases 

reported annually (Figure 4). Incidents occurred at 

victims' homes, with nearly as many incidents 

occurring at acquaintances' homes also (Table I). 

 
Figure 4: Status of Police registration of sexual abuse 

cases 

Table II is presenting the abuser profiles. Majority of 

abusers were acquaintances, with strangers being in 

a close second place. Compared to strangers, most 

perpetrators are known to their victims or at least to 

relatives of the survivors.43 

The issue of CSA must be addressed as a priority by 

religious leaders, parents, civil society, 

policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and social 

scientists. Moreover, the outcome of different NGOs 

working on child rights and awareness of CSA needs 

to be evaluated by concerned authorities. The major 

determinants of CSA in Pakistan are poverty, 

illiteracy, and various unacceptable taboos 

regarding sexual health. The government should 

provide basic health needs and education to all 

children. In addition to this, it is the prime duty of 

the government to raise awareness in law 

enforcement agencies on how to address victims of 

CSA. Sahil collects CSA data from a compilation of 84 

national and local newspapers, which may not 

represent the magnitude of severity. Thus, the 

government must collect the data of survivors of 

CSA at the national level for policymakers and social 

scientists, because NGOs cannot engage in this role 

as effectively as government agencies. Furthermore, 

the government should develop a national action 

plan against child sexual abuse/exploitation. 

Limitation: This study was solely based on a 

secondary source of data collected from the “Cruel 

Numbers” of Sahil organization from 2010 to 2016,  

therefore, some data may be missing because  of not 

ever being reported to the Sahil organization. 

C o n c l u s i o n  

In Pakistan, children are exposed to sexual abuse 

everywhere–in markets, at schools, in 

hospitals/clinics, at madrasa and police stations, and 

even their own homes. The analysis of the data 

demonstrated that the number of CSA cases was 

increasing gradually year by year in Pakistan. 

Although some NGOs are working to raise 

awareness of CSA in society, the topic of CSA 

remains a taboo subject for discussion in Pakistan. 

R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s  

• Government, civil society, and religious leaders 

should recognize CSA as a major threat to the 

fabric of society, that is intolerable at any cost. 

Therefore, the government should address this 

issue as a crime against humanity at the national 

level.  



 

                J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 216 

• The increasing incidents of CSA are questioning 

the prestige of the traditional and religious family 

system in Pakistan. Policymakers, sociologists, 

and criminologists should seriously take up this  

 

Table I: Yearly distribution of cases according to probable location for sexual abuse  

Place of Incident 
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 

Number of Incidents n (%) 

Victim’s home 306(7.6) 1042(26.0) 566(14.1) 492(12.3) 475(11.8) 539(13.4) 594(14.8) 

Acquaintance's 
home 

369(8.4) 809(18.5) 648(14.8) 630(14.4) 653(14.9) 689(15.7) 578(13.2) 

School 18(7.1) 24(9.4) 60(23.6) 43(16.9) 52(20.5) 26(10.2) 31(12.2) 

Shop 23(18.4) 14(11.2) 17(13.6) 0(0.0) 19(15.2) 12(9.6) 40(32.0) 

Haveli 18(4.2) 19(4.5) 7(1.6) 9(2.1) 20(4.7) 302(71.1) 50(11.8) 

Medical 
centre/hospital 

5(7.0) 8(11.3) 8(11.3) 12(16.9) 16(22.5) 10(14.1) 12(16.9) 

Police station 2(7.7) 0 13(50.0) 5(19.2) 1(3.8) 1(3.8) 4(15.4) 

Field/Jungle 172(8.4) 148(7.2) 225(11.0) 211(10.3) 534(26.1) 383(18.7) 372(18.2) 

Street 68(5.0) 76(5.6) 165(12.2) 148(10.9) 199(14.7 414(30.5) 287(21.1) 

Madrassa 0 0 0 0 27(35.1) 13(16.9) 37(48.1) 

 

Table II. Yearly distribution of cases according to various categories of sexual abusers 

Abuser Categories 
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 

Number of Incidents n (%) 

Acquaintance 
3964 

(23.19) 
2805 

(16.41) 
2780 

(16.26) 
1548 
(9.06) 

1856 
(10.86) 

2310 
(13.52) 

1829 
(10.70) 

Stranger 
728 

(8.93) 

1315 

(16.23) 

2172 

(26.63) 

1067 

(13.08) 

1246 

(15.28) 

829 

(10.17) 

798 

(9.79) 

Relative 
114 

(11.53) 
388 

(39.23) 
189 

(19.11) 
85 

(8.59) 
60 

(6.07) 
77 

(7.79) 
76 

(7.68) 

Incest 
24 

(5.33) 
56 

(12.44) 
144 

(32.00) 
70 

(15.56) 
62 

(13.78) 
72 

(16.00) 
22 

(4.89) 

Molvie/ Faith  
healer 

18 
(6.21) 

30 
(10.34) 

66 
(22.76) 

28 
(9.66) 

43 
(14.83) 

49 
(16.90) 

56 
(19.31) 

Teacher 
22 

(7.61) 
91 

(31.49) 
38 

(13.15) 
26 

(9.00) 
20 

(6.92) 
55 

(19.03) 
37 

(12.80) 

Shopkeeper 
3 

(8.57) 
0 0 0 

4 
(11.43) 

12 
(34.29) 

16 
(45.71) 

Not Mentioned 0 0 0 
110 

(11.65) 
148 

(15.68) 
295 

(31.25) 
391 

(41.4 2) 

Jirga 0 0 0 
15 

(28.30) 
8 

(15.09) 
30 

(56.60) 
0 

 



 

                J Islamabad Med Dental Coll 2020 216 

• issue because it is a challenge for societal values 

and a sign of abnormality in our moral standards.  

• Incidents of CSA are a violation of the basic 

rights of children. The government should 

introduce special courts to address cases of child 

sexual abuse at district levels. Moreover, severe 

and swift punishment will be helpful to create a 

deterrence against CSA in the community.   

• The government, as well as non-governmental 

organizations and health departments, should 

introduce courses for the people who are 

directly involved, from treatment programmes 

to the investigation of victims of CSA. 

• The government, as well as non-governmental 

organizations and civil society, should launch 

awareness campaigns for parents to sensitize 

and educate them on the prevalence of CSA. 

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