Colombo, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Despite laws, institutions and formal safeguards aimed at protecting children, the latest evidence from Pakistan has exposed serious gaps in the implementation of these legal provisions, leaving children vulnerable to abuse, a report has stated.
Questions raised by the Islamabad High Court over child safety provisions under the Zainab Alert Act, scrutiny by the Sindh High Court of juvenile justice implementation, concerns from a Senate committee over low conviction rates, and UNICEF’s latest findings laid bare different failures within the same child-protection system, according to a report in the Sri Lankan newspaper ‘Daily Mirror’.
It noted that weakness in Pakistan’s child-protection system is not a lack of laws, but the failure to consistently enforce them for children at greatest risk.
Highlighting escalating violence against children, the report cited data compiled by Islamabad-based child rights organisation Sahil, which documented at least 1,914 cases of violence and abuse against children across Pakistan between January and June 2026.
“The figure includes 1,015 cases of child sexual abuse, 558 abductions, 101 missing children, 35 child marriages and 98 cases involving pornography following sexual abuse. Forty-nine cases involved infants found abandoned by roadsides. The figures represent cases reported in newspapers, rather than the full scale of abuse. That distinction matters in a country where fear, stigma, family pressure and limited access to justice can keep incidents away from both the police and the public. The numbers describe a visible crisis, but not necessarily complete,” Daily Mirror mentioned.
“The pattern emerging from the data is as disturbing as the headline figure. Girls accounted for 58 percent of the reported victims in the first six months of 2026, while boys represented 42 percent. Children aged 11 to 15 formed the largest affected age group, with 598 reported victims. Another 356 victims were aged between 16 and 18, while 329 were between six and 10,” it added.
Underlining the gap in implementation of legal provisions in Pakistan, the report said the failure is not confined to a lack of laws but is reflected in what happens after a law is passed, a complaint is lodged, and a child seeks justice.
The latest figures underscore the scale of the problem, with more than 1,900 cases reported in the first six months of 2026.
“Nearly half of the reported incidents occurred in children’s homes, while alleged perpetrators were often people known to the victims. At the same time, the criminal justice system continues to record low conviction rates in some jurisdictions. For children, the protection promised by legislation ultimately exists only when institutions act on it,” the report noted.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz