Sahil ‘Cruel Numbers 2021’ has been compiled by monitoring 88 national and regional
newspapers daily.
The objectives of this report are:
To present the data on the situation regarding violence against children (up to 18 years) in
cases of sexual abuse, abduction/kidnapping, missing children, and child marriages.
This data is relevant for researchers, academics, media houses, and legislators to work on
strategies for the prevention of abuse against children.
To contribute towards spreading awareness and information about different forms of Child
Sexual Abuse (CSA) to all segments of society.
In the year 2021, the data on child abuse cases shows that a total number of 3852 cases have been
reported in newspapers. These cases were reported from all four provinces including Islamabad
Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).
The data indicates that the total of 3852 cases includes reported cases of child sexual abuse (CSA),
cases of abduction, cases of missing children, and cases of child marriages.
The data shows that more than 10 children have been abused per day during the year 2021.
The cases of child abuse have increased by more than 30% as compared to the year 2020.
The gender divide shows that out of the total reported cases of child abuse, 54% of victims were
girls and 46% were boys.
The reported age shows that children are most vulnerable to abuse in the age group of 6-15 years,
in which more boys than girls victims were reported. Moreover, children as young as 0-5 years are
also sexually abused.
The abuser’s category of Cruel Numbers 2021 indicates that acquaintances are still the most
involved in child sexual abuse, along with service providers, family members, strangers, and
women abettors, who have increased by 29 cases in 2020 to 86 cases in 2021.
The geographical distribution of the data shows that out of the total 3852 reported cases, Punjab
has the most cases. All other provinces have also recorded cases of child abuse.
Out of the total 3852 reported cases, 2211(57%) cases are reported from rural areas and 1641(43%)
cases are reported from urban areas.
Of the total of reported cases, 84% were registered with the police.
The cases of only CSA were 2275, with both genders equally victimized.
A total number of 92 cases reported murder after sexual abuse.
A total number of 1303 cases were reported of abduction, out of which 233 (18%) cases were
reported of sexual abuse after the abduction.
A total number of 438 cases of missing children were reported.
In cases of child marriages, 80 cases were reported with 70 cases of girls, and 10 cases of boys.
Sahil ‘Cruel Numbers 2021’ has been compiled by monitoring 88 national and regional newspapers daily.
