4,150 child related criminal cases were registered in Punjab between January, June 2025
RAWALPINDI:
The Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), a civil society organization, has launched its fact sheet on violence against children in Punjab for the first half of 2025, revealing that an average of 23 cases of violence against children were reported across the province.
The fact sheet is based on district-level police data obtained through the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.
According to SSDO’s analysis, 4,150 child-related criminal cases were registered in Punjab between January and June 2025. Of these, 3,989 cases were charged while 3,791 are still under trial.
Punjab’s reporting mechanisms have improved over the past year, resulting in increased registration of cases. SSDO noted that conviction rates remain critically low and require immediate attention.
Despite the scale and seriousness of offences, only 12 convictions were recorded during the six-month period.
Sexual abuse remains one of the most worrying categories with 717 registered cases, 658 accused and 581 still under trial. The category had 12 acquittals and 8 revocations, but zero convictions.
Begging was the most frequently reported crime with 2,693 cases registered across the province. Of these, 2,674 were subpoenaed and 2,669 remain under trial, but none resulted in a conviction.
Other forms of exploitation also pose serious threats. Child trafficking recorded 332 cases, resulting in 4 convictions, while 182 child labor cases resulted in 8 convictions, relatively the highest outcome among the categories, but still alarmingly low in relation to the number of offences.
Meanwhile, 87 cases of physical abuse and 27 kidnapping cases yielded no verdicts.
Child marriage remains severely underreported, with only 12 cases recorded in the first six months of 2025 and no convictions or acquittals, pointing to entrenched cultural and procedural barriers that impede reporting.
District-level data identifies Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Sialkot as the major hotspots for child abuse, exploitation and trafficking. Lahore recorded the highest number of cases of sexual abuse, child begging and human trafficking, while Nankana Sahib, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin also showed elevated trends in human trafficking.
