The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights approved a bill to amend the criminal law regarding punishment of culprits in child abuse cases. The bill states that the offenders guilty of abuse would be sentenced to life imprisonment, while the perpetrators who persuade the children and film them would be sentenced to seven years. The bill also says that the minimum age for a child to be held responsible for the offence should be 10 years.It further states that the culprits involved in child abuse can be arrested without warrants.The move comes in light of Kasur’s massive child abuse scandal, termed the biggest in the country’s history, which revealed that around 400 videos were made of 280 minor victims by the organised gang of over 25 criminals in Hussain Khanwala village. Under the bill, offenders will be punished with death or imprisoned for life. The bill seems exactly like the tough and uncompromising response demanded by the public. However, despite recognising the urgent need to tackle child abuse, this bill should be opposed due to its content.Given the impassioned rhetoric surrounding this critical issue, it is tough to make a case against the bill. But it is contended that this bill is counterintuitive, unjust and lacking in efficacy. The need of the hour is a dispassionate reflection on the nature of this social ill. Principles of justice demand that an enlightened view of the root causes of the issue needs to be taken rather than resorting to knee-jerk reactions. The arguments for the ineffectiveness of the death penalty in deterring crime have been explicated on innumerable occasions, so criticising that facet of the bill is redundant. But even life imprisonment, the seemingly humane alternative, doesn’t cut it because the nature of the problem of paedophilia is psychological and a direct result of our society’s unhealthy repression of sexual discourse and a distorted view of gender relations. If the convict is released after serving time without rehabilitation, the threat to society is not reduced. Also, most sexual abuse takes place in the privacy of homes as the perpetrators are relatives or friends of the victims and are able to get away with it due to the aforementioned notions of shame and honour. Reporting of the crime itself is a grave problem, as the chauvinist biases prevalent in the police and the medico-legal analysts prompt them to sickeningly dismiss the victims as “habitual” or dishonest.
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