TP REPORT
ISLAMABAD: A total of 3,630 child abuse cases were reported in 81 newspapers across Pakistan during 2025, according to newly compiled data covering all four provinces along with Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Gender analysis of the reported cases shows that 1,924 victims (53%) were girls, while 1,625 (47%) were boys, including 116 cases involving newborn babies.
The statistics reveal that more than nine children were abused on average every day in 2025. The number of reported cases also shows an 8 percent increase (266 cases) compared to 2024, highlighting a worrying upward trend.
According to the report, the major categories of crimes include 1,107 cases of abduction, 596 cases of sodomy, 522 cases of rape, 365 cases of missing children, 195 attempted rape cases, 141 attempted sodomy cases, 130 gang sodomy incidents, 108 gang rape cases, 58 murders following sexual abuse, and 53 cases of child marriages.
Age-wise analysis indicates that children between 11 and 15 years are the most vulnerable group, with boys slightly more affected than girls in this age bracket.
The report further notes that acquaintances remain the most common perpetrators of child sexual abuse, highlighting the risks children face within familiar social circles.
Geographical data shows that 73 percent of the reported cases originated from Punjab, followed by 21 percent from Sindh, 4 percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 2 percent from Balochistan, ICT, AJK, and GB combined.
Encouragingly, 82 percent of the reported cases were registered with the police, which the report describes as a positive sign of active law enforcement response.
Violence Against Women
Over the past two years, Sahil, an organization monitoring gender-based violence (GBV), has also tracked cases of violence against women.
According to Sahil’s 2025 GBV data, 7,071 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide. These cases include murder, suicide, abduction, rape, honor killing, harassment, torture, and acid attacks, with a 34 percent increase recorded compared to previous data. The total also includes a small number of cases involving transgender victims.
Breakdown of the cases shows 1,546 murders, 1,345 abductions, 1,169 torture cases, 877 rapes, 680 suicides, 449 injured victims, 316 harassment cases, 284 honor killings, and 41 acid attacks.
Analysis of perpetrators indicates that 32 percent of the abusers were acquaintances, 18 percent strangers, and 12 percent husbands, while 20 percent of cases did not specify the relationship between victim and perpetrator.
Provincial statistics show that 78 percent of the GBV cases were reported from Punjab, 14 percent from Sindh, 6 percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 2 percent from Balochistan, ICT, AJK, and GB combined.
