The last thing that parents want when they send their kids to school is for the school watchman to sexually abuse them on campus, yet that is precisely what happened in Swabi to a girl student in the fourth grade. The province’s capital city has seen protests and outcry following the tragedy.
The 12-year-old girl was targeted on school property, according to police. Regarding the October 15 incident, a police report was filed at the Kalu Khan station.
Liaquat Ali, the suspected watchman, was quickly taken into custody by the Swabi police. The Express Tribune was informed by Swabi District Police Officer Haroon Rasheed that the police acted quickly and arrested the culprit as soon as they were notified.
A medical team was dispatched to care for the victim, and charges under the Child Protection Act and other provisions have been included in the case. The DPO stated that a special team was assembled to look into the horrifying incident in-depth, working under the direction of the Swabi SP Investigation.
In 2022, there were reports of sexual assaults on females in Peshawar. Of the victims, two were killed in the Saddar district after the assault, while the other girl managed to escape the horrifying experience. These occurrences happened in the regions of Kali Bari, Saddar railway station, and Gulberg.
When his DNA matched, a 30-year-old suspect was taken into custody. Furthermore, a girl in Budh Ber was sexually raped and her body was dumped; the police subsequently apprehended the accused.
The Peshawar police indicate that in the first seven months of 2024, there were 17 documented occurrences of child sexual assault. Each of these cases resulted in a formal complaint being filed, naming 44 suspects, 36 of whom were taken into custody.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, there were 1,233 recorded cases of child sexual assault between 2019 and 2022, according to police data. 2019 saw the registration of up to 185 instances, followed by 2020 with 323, 2021 with 360, and 2022 with 365.
According to information acquired by Express Tribune, there are probably a lot more of these cases in reality because a lot of incidents that take place in predominantly wealthy or tribal communities go unreported. Out of fear, many families of the impacted children have a tendency to keep these instances quiet.
“Incidents of forced and sexual violence against children are increasing every year.” Takkar pointed out that harsh punishments are included in the statute designed to handle sexual assault against minors, and that offenders have in the past received considerable sentences in serious situations.
Concurrently, a demonstration against the occurrences of sexual assault on girls in Lahore and Swabi was organised in Peshawar by Nighat Orakzai, a former MPA and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Many students took part in the demonstration, calling for the quick and harsh punishment of those who commit these crimes.
