LAHORE: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EHAD, Omer Aftab has said that Zainab Alert Bill is a basic and important step to create a safe environment for the future of the country. Passing the bill is a good move but EHAD believes that prevention is better than cure.
He demanded that Government, media and civil society must take some dedicated measurements to educate and aware the parents, teachers and children about the security and safety of children so that they can prevent these kinds of incidents.
In a statement on Monday Omer Aftab said, there are some gaps if we see the bill with the point of view of common people. First, bill is introduced only for the Islamabad Capital Territory.
death penalty should have been added in the bill for sexual assault/rape
Highlighting the importance of this bill he said that firstly, the bill must be passed by the provincial assemblies in order to be implemented in the provinces as soon as possible. Secondly, the death penalty should have been added in the bill for sexual assault/rape. But according to the passed bill, the maximum punishment for child sexual abuse will be life imprisonment with a fine of one million rupees while the minimum punishment will be 10 years.
The CEO EHAD said that sexual exploitation is causing serious damage to the cognitive, social, and emotional development of a child. Child abuse can affect children psychological health harshly which can cause anxiety, depression, eating disorder, OCD, loneliness and communication problems.
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As a society, we have a collective responsibility to prevent child sexual abuse. To achieve this goal, we have to promote and advocate the policies that can improve the children safety and enhance their development. We must address the risk factors and important measurements that everybody should consider to reduce the risks, he added.
INP/SB
