108 children, 85 women suffered sexual assault in Pakistan in July: Report

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As crimes climb charts in Pakistan, at least 133 women were kidnapped and as many as 85 were subjected to rape across Pakistan in July this year, stated a report compiled by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) and the Centre for Research, Development and Communication (CRDC), adding that child abuse also continues to plague society as 108 children were sexually abused.

Pakistan's Punjab province reported the highest number of incidents as the number stood at 77. Sindh reported 34 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 16 while in Islamabad six incidents of violence were reported, according to Dawn. Kidnapping remained one of the major crimes against Pakistani women for the third month in a row as out of 133 cases, 93 women in Punjab were abducted. In Sindh and Islamabad, 20 and 15 cases were reported, respectively. In Balochistan and KP, two and three cases of abduction were reported during the same time frame.

At least 85 cases of sexual assault were reported with Punjab accounting for 47 cases of rape, reported Dawn citing the report. Moreover, in the name of honour killing, at least seven women were killed with four in Sindh and three in Punjab whereas five cases of workplace harassment were reported in Punjab while Sindh accounted for two cases out of seven.

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Domestic violence has also been on an incessant rise as Punjab again topped the charts with 58 cases whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh reported 17 and 15 cases, respectively. Over July, and 108 children were sexually abused as violence against children continued to plague society as Punjab reported 42 cases, followed by 32 cases in KP and 21 in Sindh, according to Dawn.

At least 82 children were kidnapped across Pakistan, 30 of them from Punjab, 27 from KP, 13 from Sindh, eight from Islamabad and four from Balochistan. Continuing on the tangent of physical violence, at least 22 children were murdered in July - 10 were murdered in Punjab while Sindh and KP reported five and three cases, respectively. Balochistan and Islamabad reported two cases each.

Punjab and Sindh reported three cases each of child marriages whereas eight child labour cases were reported in Punjab and one case was reported in KP. "The aim of regularly publishing this data is to bring attention to the rapid increase in violence against women and children ... We hope that this data can be a resource for relevant authorities to take action," said SSDO Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas. Violence against women and girls, including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage, is endemic throughout Pakistan.

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