WPC plans to start awareness drive on child abuse

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) on Tuesday decided to create awareness in public about child abuse by starting seminars, teachers training and parental guidance on the matter.

The decision was made in the WPC meeting which held here in wake of growing incidents of child abuse.

While chairing the meeting, Secretary WPC Shaista Pervaiz Malik said that parents are mainly responsible for the protection of their children. She said that there was a need to have further legislation, police reforms and other initiatives in this regard.

Shaista asked the members of the meeting to give their suggestions for the betterment of the society.She said that WPC would consult the Education Ministry and Religious Ministry to have joint strategy on this issue.

Members of the meeting said that there should be awareness campaigns to make children as well as parents to get knowledge of such social evils with start of training sessions with teachers and students at schools and colleges.

The members of the meeting agreed that there should be exemplary punishments to those culprits who were involved in child abuse cases. They said that immediate punishment should be given to those culprits.

They stressed upon the data collection on crime rate besides data of culprits and trend of punishment.

They also stressed that there should be betterment in police reforms and in order to control happening of such incidents, awareness on policemen and officials was also essential. They said that instead of taking departmental action against low-ranking police officers in happening of any such incident, action should should be taken against respective high-ranking police officers.

They said that these cases should be heard in anti-terrorists courts. They said that religious scholars should also be taken on board on the issue.

They said that NGOs should visit door to door in awareness campaigns on these serious issues like child abuse and that there was a need to included related subjects in curriculum to educate children.