Pakistan is facing a deeply disturbing child-protection crisis. Reports of rape, molestation, sodomy, abduction and other forms of sexual violence against children continue to emerge from different parts of the country. The problem is particularly alarming because children are not only victims; in some cases, adolescents and other persons below the age of 18 are also alleged to be involved in sexual offences against other minors. This raises a difficult question for Pakistani society: how can a child become involved in behaviour that causes severe physical and psychological harm to another child?
The scale of the wider crisis is undeniable. Sahil’s Cruel Numbers data reported 3,630 child-abuse cases in Pakistan during 2025, an increase from the previous year. Of these, 2,003 involved sexual abuse, including 522 reported cases of rape and 596 of sodomy. The report also recorded 238 cases of gang sexual assault. These figures represent reported cases, not the complete scale of the problem, because stigma, family pressure, fear, social consequences and weak reporting mechanisms can prevent victims from approaching authorities.
However, it is important not to oversimplify the problem. Pakistan does not yet have sufficiently comprehensive national statistics that allow us to confidently state that under-18 perpetrators of rape are increasing every day. The available data overwhelmingly document victims and types of abuse rather than providing a consistent nationwide breakdown of alleged offenders by age. Nevertheless, reports of sexual violence involving adolescents should be treated as a serious warning because they expose failures in education, supervision, digital safety and early intervention.
One of the most significant changes affecting today’s children is their unprecedented access to smartphones, social media and the internet. UNICEF’s analysis of child online protection in Pakistan warns that children can encounter inappropriate sexual content, harmful contacts and online exploitation, with technology creating new avenues for sexual abuse and exploitation.
The issue is not that smartphones or social media automatically make children abusive. Technology can be educational and socially beneficial. The danger emerges when children receive unrestricted access without digital literacy, parental supervision or an understanding of consent and personal boundaries.
Exposure to pornography and sexualised material can also distort young people’s understanding of intimacy and relationships. Research has associated pornography exposure among young people with harmful sexual attitudes and, in some circumstances, attitudes supportive of sexual violence.
Consequently, simply taking a mobile phone away is not a sufficient solution. Children need to understand why certain content is harmful, how online grooming operates, how to protect themselves, and how to seek help when something feels wrong.
The family is the first institution responsible for teaching children respect, empathy, boundaries and responsibility. Yet many Pakistani families find conversations about the body, puberty, sexuality and consent uncomfortable. Silence does not protect children from these subjects; it can leave them to learn from peers, pornography, social media and unreliable online sources.
Age-appropriate sexuality education should not be confused with encouraging sexual behaviour. Proper education means teaching children about bodily autonomy, private and public behaviour, safe and unsafe touch, consent, respect, online safety and the importance of reporting abuse.
Parents should also know their children’s friends, online activities and behavioural changes without turning the home into an environment of fear. A child who becomes unusually secretive, aggressive, sexually preoccupied, withdrawn or anxious may need attention and professional support.
When an adolescent is accused of sexually harming another child, society faces two responsibilities simultaneously: justice and prevention. The victim must be protected, believed and supported, while the young offender must be held appropriately accountable under juvenile law and assessed for the factors behind the behaviour.
Treating every young offender simply as an irredeemable criminal may fail to prevent future harm. Adolescents can require psychological assessment, behavioural intervention, education about consent and boundaries, family intervention and carefully supervised rehabilitation. At the same time, the seriousness of the offence must never be minimised because the accused is young.
Research from other countries demonstrates that sexual violence between minors is a serious safeguarding issue, and experts have increasingly examined the relationship between harmful pornography, rigid gender norms, peer pressure, entitlement and inadequate understanding of consent.
Pakistan needs a national child protection strategy that goes beyond punishment after a crime has occurred.
First, schools should introduce age appropriate safeguarding and consent education. Children should learn that nobody has the right to violate their bodies and that they must respect the boundaries of others.
Second, parents require digital parenting programmes. Schools and communities can teach parents how to supervise smartphones, identify grooming, establish reasonable screen-time rules and report harmful online behaviour.
Third, Pakistan needs stronger online child protection. Social media companies should be required to respond rapidly to reports involving child exploitation, while law-enforcement agencies need specialised cybercrime and child protection units.
Fourth, schools should have trained counsellors and clear safeguarding procedures. Teachers must know how to recognise warning signs and how to report suspected abuse without exposing children to further harm.
Fifth, police, doctors, prosecutors and courts require specialised training in handling child sexual abuse cases. UNICEF notes that Pakistan still lacks a fully coordinated child-protection case management and referral system aligned with international standards.
Finally, Pakistan must confront the culture of silence. Families should never force victims to remain silent to protect so-called family honour. Sexual abuse is not the victim’s shame; the responsibility belongs to the person who commits it and to institutions that fail to protect children.
Pakistan’s child sexual-abuse crisis cannot be solved through punishment alone. It requires prevention, education, responsible parenting, digital safeguards, psychological intervention, effective policing and a justice system capable of protecting victims while dealing appropriately with juvenile offenders.
Most importantly, society must recognise that children need protection not only from adult predators but also from harmful environments that can shape the behaviour of vulnerable young people.
The objective should be neither moral panic nor denial. It should be prevention.
If Pakistan wants a safer future, it must begin by teaching its children respect before desire, consent before intimacy, empathy before aggression, and responsibility before access to technology. Protecting children today is ultimately an investment in the moral, psychological and social health of Pakistan tomorrow.
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