THE profane curse of brutalising children is back in the news. The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights has examined reports of torture, sexual abuse and corporal punishment at religious seminaries in Punjab, Sindh and KP, and demanded robust child protection measures, particularly in educational facilities. The panel has emphasised that child safety is the state`s most crucial obligation. It has also decried the absence of registration, financial transparency, regular inspections of institutions and the long overdue ban on corporal punishment.

The National Commission on the Rights of Child`s State of Children in Pakistan Report 2024 scanned the grim circumstances faced by Pakistani children: the first half of 2024 registered 862 child abuse cases, 668 abduction cases, 82 incidents of missing children, 48 of pornography after sexual abuse and 18 cases of child marriage.

At the heart of the children`s misery lies the state`s failure to fix administrative flaws and a twisted dismissal of child rights.

Perilous environments cannot be met with lassitude anymore.

Safe learning settings, a trained front-line force to rescue children in high-risk situations, frequent parent-teacher interaction, monitoring and raising awareness among families to break the cycle of abuse are clear solutions. Child rights define humane societies. Childhood trauma means lifelong susceptibility to mental illness, drug use, stress and compromised productivity. Individuals also lose the ability to adjust emotional reactions towards people and scenarios. Lawmakers must keep pace with the scale of the scourge and legislate to bring seminaries under education boards to ensure transparency. Children can only have agency, respect and safety with improved prosecution and higher conviction rates, along with mental health support. Pakistan, as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, cannot afford its current downward trajectory, and must lend an ear to child victims.