SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

etween males is socially tolerated. 307 The association of adult men with boys is not
questioned, making boys vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation.
7.1.2 Knowledge base
The knowledge base on the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys in Pakistan is relatively
comprehensive up to 2009, much research having been conducted in the last three to four
years. As with other countries in South Asia, the research has primarily been focused on
urban areas, although there has been some research conducted in smaller cities, towns and
rural areas of the NWFP and Punjab (referred to below). Pakistan has been fortunate to have
strong research skills among its NGOs and NGO associations (including the Pakistan
Paediatric Association (PPA), the Pakistan Voluntary Health and Nutrition Association,
PILER and Azad Foundation, among others) and has benefited from strong technical support
from donor agencies (including Save the Children, ActionAid, ILO and UNICEF). The
country has also been fortunate to have conducted a great amount of research on child labour
and bonded labour, and thus has a very strong knowledge base in labour exploitation. 308
In part due to Pakistan NGOs working for many years on social mobilisation at the grassroots
level, particularly those addressing the linkages between local, including tribal, social
customs and labour, landlessness, violence against women and child development issues,
researchers have had notable access to target communities in a social environment that
discourages the discussion of sexual abuse and exploitation. At the same time, despite the
relative currency and comprehensiveness of the knowledge base, research has been unable to
adequately encompass the immense diversity of ethnic and tribal groups. As well, the last
several years have seen great impacts on Pakistan from both natural disaster and civil conflict.
Researchers and donor agencies are aware that these have likely made significant changes in
the situation of the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys, and are presently mobilizing
research. However the data are not all in, and await comprehensive analysis.
7.1.3 Sexual abuse of boys
Due to the cultural silence about sexuality, it has been difficult for researchers to estimate the
extent of child sexual abuse in Pakistan. Numerous studies have been directed at the issue. 309
Because of limited mechanisms for reporting abuse, many of these studies have depended for
data on newspaper reports, police files or confidential reports from children obtained through
outreach activities in schools and on the street. The most substantial data on sexual abuse of
boys in Pakistan come from research with children living on the street and children being
sexually exploited through prostitution.
While little information is available about the abuse of children across the socio-economic
spectrum, a study by the Pakistan Voluntary Health and Nutrition Association indicated that
307
ECPAT International and Pakistan Paediatrics Association, 2006, ‘Situational analysis report on prostitution
of boys in Pakistan (Lahore and Peshawar)’.
308
Few of these many studies could be reviewed here due to the limitations of this desk review, but are
extensively analysed in a forthcoming study by UNICEF Pakistan and Frederick, J. provisionally titled ‘Situation
analysis of child trafficking and exploitation in Pakistan’.
309
Refer to Bibliography.
105