On The World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse – The National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC), together with the European Union funded Huqooq e Pakistan Project, launched The Prevention of Child Abuse Campaign helmed by actor Ahsan Khan as the Goodwill Ambassador in celebration of Universal Children’s Day.
The Prevention of Child Abuse Campaign 2021 comes at an important time because abuse and violence against children continue to be growing concerns in Pakistan – particularly compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although other forms of abuse and violence exist, the Campaign aims to educate, equip, and empower children, parents, caregivers, and society about child sexual abuse.
Speaking at the launch, Chairperson NCRC, Afshan Tehseen, said, “Ensuring child rights is particularly important because Pakistan has a unique window of opportunity where the ‘youth bulge’ can truly drive Pakistan’s future.
But the worrying child abuse crisis is unfolding right before our eyes. The time to act is now – through strengthening child rights protection systems and legislations along with mass civic awareness-raising efforts.”
She reiterated that the NCRC is strongly committed to ensuring that child abuse cases are resolved swiftly and with the full force of justice.
The Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of European Union to Pakistan, Ovidiu Mic, speaking on the occasion of the launch, reiterated that “children are the future of our societies and their rights must be upheld, violations denounced and punished.
In Pakistan, the European Union is actively supporting initiatives to prevent child abuse in all its forms and to promote awareness of the risks that it poses.”
The guest-of-honour and Goodwill Ambassador, Ahsan Khan, spoke about his involvement with the Campaign: “We need to act now! Pakistan’s biggest resource is its young population, especially children.
They will be tomorrow’s leaders, politicians, doctors, policy makers, actors and artists. For them to imagine a better world than ours, we need to ensure that we give them a better world to dream in where they can be safe, secure and loved.”
