A disturbing incident has come to light in the Peer Bala area of Peshawar, where a 6-year-old girl named Ayesha was allegedly sexually assaulted by a shopkeeper named Mukaram. The girl’s father reported the incident to the police, leading to the registration of a case against the accused.
It is important to note that another incident of alleged sexual assault involving a girl was reported in Peshawar’s Rasheed Garhi area just yesterday. The girl’s mother informed the police that her husband had allegedly sexually assaulted their daughter at gunpoint.
These incidents shed light on the persisting issue of sexual abuse of children, particularly young girls, in Peshawar and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Such cases have been occurring for several years, raising concerns about the safety and well-being of children in the region.
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According to a report by Sahil, a non-governmental organization dedicated to preventing sexual violence against children in Pakistan, there has been a 33% increase in cases of child sexual abuse nationwide in 2022. Shockingly, over 4,000 children, including those in KP, fell victim to sexual violence during that year.
The report highlights that a majority of the affected children are girls. Disturbingly, on average, more than 12 children experienced sexual violence per day in 2022, with a total of 2,323 girls and 1,928 boys affected.
Furthermore, the report reveals that children between the ages of 6 and 15 are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, with many cases involving perpetrators from within their own families.
