Pakistan’s first Miss Universe, Erica Robin, has urged parents to take greater precautions to protect children from sexual abuse, using Independence Day celebrations to raise awareness about child safety.
In a video shared on Instagram on Friday, Ms Robin said she loved Pakistan but believed it was important to speak out about issues affecting children, particularly amid recent reports of sexual abuse.
She offered parents three key suggestions to help protect their children.
First, she advised parents not to assume that children were safe simply because they were around relatives. She urged them to remain aware of who had access to their children, regardless of whether they were boys or girls.
She also encouraged parents to teach children about personal boundaries and appropriate physical contact, stressing that children should know they had the right to refuse unwanted contact, including from adults.
Her third and most important recommendation was to create a safe and trusting environment in which children could discuss anything that made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Ms Robin urged parents to pay attention to changes in their children’s behaviour, particularly if they appeared uncomfortable or fearful around certain individuals.
She called on parents to adopt these measures and spread awareness to help create a society where every child could feel “safe, free, heard and protected”.
Her comments come amid growing concerns over child abuse in Pakistan. More than 1,900 cases of child abuse were reported across the country during the first half of the year, according to available data.
In Karachi, police on Aug 4 registered a complaint after a young girl reportedly returned unconscious after going out with a relative to buy something. She was allegedly raped, and a 17-year-old relative was arrested the following day.
On June 23, two separate cases were reported. In Karachi, police recovered the body of a three-year-old girl from outside her home after she was allegedly sexually assaulted.
In Sargodha, a seven-year-old girl was found dead with signs of struggle on her body. Police said the suspects may have attempted to sexually assault her, and four people were subsequently arrested.
