Can capital punishment prevent child sexual abuse?

Two years after the brutal rape and murder of six-year-old Zainab Ansari shook the nation’s collective conscience, horrific sexual crimes against children still seem to be on a rise.

On October 8, 2020, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl was first abducted, raped, and then killed in Charsadda. In early September, a five-year-old girl from Karachi was raped, hit on the head, and set on fire. Her torched body was recovered by the police two days after she was reported to have gone missing. In July 2020 alone, several sexual abuse cases against minors made headlines in the country.

According to a report by Sahil, an organisation working for child protection, in the first half of 2020, as many as 1,489 children – at least eight per day – fell prey to sexual abuse. The victims included 785 girls and 704 boys. The report also showed that in 822 cases, the culprits were acquainted with the victims themselves or their family.

Why people want capital punishment

The Express Tribune carried out an online survey to understand Pakistanis’ stance on capital punishment for sex offenders. Out of 200 respondents, 35 per cent say they support the death penalty, while 58 per cent advocate the public execution of rapists. Some five per cent say they do not believe in capital punishment at all.

To Kanwal, a stay-at-home mom of two young girls, sexual violence against children is the worst type of crime that a person can commit. She, therefore, thinks that offenders do not deserve to live.

“I think raping children warrants nothing but capital punishment because, as a mother, I will never be comfortable knowing that the criminal is still alive and on the loose. As long as such criminals are alive, every child is at risk,” she says. “Death is the only answer.”

But is it a deterrent?

According to Valerie Khan, the Executive Director of Group Development Pakistan (GDP) – an organisation working on protecting and promoting child rights and strengthening child protection and justice for children across Pakistan – awarding the death penalty to offenders for CSA-related crimes is not the answer as it goes against the best interests of the child.

“The death penalty does not work as a deterrent for CSA; what people do not understand is that most of the perpetrators are relatives or people close to the child’s family circle, or community members. Keeping in view the stigma and the power structures in our country, guaranteeing the death penalty will only lead to a decrease in the reporting of cases instead of a decrease in rape incidents,” she says.

What is the solution?

Law experts and child rights activities strictly maintain that crimes perpetrated against children are heinous and the state must ensure improved mechanisms to make society safe for everyone.

Concluding her remarks, Valarie Khan stresses that instead of ending the offenders’ life and seeing it as the ultimate solution, the criminal just system as well society must focus on the prevention of child sexual abuse.

“As a child protection practitioner, a mother, and a citizen, I consider it my priority to ascertain that no more cases of CSA happen in the first place,” she says. “For the purpose, we need to address the root causes of CSA, some of which include violence and trauma experienced in the childhood, harmful practices like child marriage and Bacha Bazi, as well as socio-economic disparity.”

Finally, she emphasises that Pakistanis also need to focus on their mindset to see some real and positive changes.

“If we do not transform our toxic patriarchal narrative into a gender-egalitarian narrative and continue glorifying violence as a response to problems, we will not see any changes.”

from News Updates From Pakistan - Pakistani News - The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/3mbSvoc
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