Pakistan senate has criminalized sexual assault against minors and child porn

Until yesterday, only rape of a child was deemed illegal, with child porn and sexual assault of a minor not even mentioned in law books. Now those responsible for such horrific deeds will finally be punished, thanks to a new legal amendment which has been ratified by the country's president. Anyone found guilty of sexually assaulting a child will now face seven years in prison. Child pornography will also lead to seven years behind bars, as well as a fine of £4730. The trafficking of children will now also be punishable. Previously, there was no law against smuggling children away from their homes and families within the country. Traffickers were only punished if they took children out of Pakistan. Finally, the new rules will raise the age of criminal responsibility for a child from seven to ten-years-old.
The amendments were introduced after Pakistan was rocked last year by a child abuse scandal affecting hundreds of children in just one village. As many as 280 young boys and girls under the age of 14 from Hussain Khanwala, a village near the Indian border, were filmed being abused. The videos were then used as blackmail against the children's families. The police force were severely criticised for their slow and uninterested response to the situation. In the end, 20 people were arrested but only on counts of rape and sodomy.
Valerie Khan, of legal campaign group Group Development Pakistan, added that it was time to establish a "national commission on child rights."
She said: “Now we have to turn our attention to the law’s implementation."