KARACHI: More than eight children were subjected to sexual abuse on average every day in the first six months of 2020 in Pakistan, according to child protection NGOSahil.
In its six-month "Cruel Number" report released Thursday, Sahil reported that as of June this year, 497 children were sexually abused.
The NGO said most of the cases were in Punjab — at 57%. Of the rest, 32% were reported in Sindh and 6% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It further noted that more than 35 cases were reported in Islamabad, 22 in Balochistan, 10 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and one in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Out of the total reported cases, 62% were from rural areas and 38% reported from urban areas
At least173 children were gang-raped, whereas there were227 reports of attempted sexual assault. Moreover, 38 childrenwere killed after they were sexually abused.
Of the total children who were subjected to sexual abuse, 53% were girls and 47% boys.
Sahil also highlighted that 51 cases of underage marriage were reported.
The conclusions were drawn from January-June 2020 data from 84 newspapers and covers incidents from all four provinces, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, it added.