Pakistan has set up its first special court to tackle cases related to child abuse.
On December 19, the first Child Court was inaugurated at Judicial Complex in Lahore by Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, in the presence of senior judge Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali, Justice Aalia Neelum, District and Sessions Judge Abid Qureshi , Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan, along with representatives of the Lahore Bar Association.
The lack of such a court was first recognized by the Supreme Court in the Tayyaba case.
In that case, 10-year-old Tayyaba, who was working as a maid in Islamabad, endured torture and abuse at the hands of her employers. Despite suffering from bruises and burns on her body and a medical report supporting her tale, she required a great deal of support to raise her voice against her abusers.
The Supreme Court at that point in time took suo-motu notice of her case, and also recognized for the first time the lack of a separate bench for handling crimes involving violence against children.
Court Set Up After Several Years Of Efforts
The first court has been launched after many years of efforts by child rights’ activists and after other tragic cases similar to that of Tayyaba coming to light.
The new court will be handling all crimes involving child offenders and so far 80 such cases has been transferred to it .
Speaking at the inauguration, LHC Chief Justice (CJ) Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said that the aim of establishing the dedicated court was to “protect the innocence of children from negative impacts of litigation before traditional courts” . He further added that “we cannot let children ruin their lives in courts.”
Barrister Sarah Belal called the launch of the first Child Court “a proud moment for the lawyers’ community”. She added that the separate court was “in line with both Islamic laws and Pakistan’s laws.”
The court features a waiting area, and a separate room with toys which can be used for counselling the under-trial children by the students of Punjab University’s psychology department.
Court Will Protect Children From “Secondary Victimization “
Valerie Khan, a Pakistani women-and-child-rights’ activist, said it was “a major accomplishment for the children of Pakistan,” and “a huge achievement for child rights’ activists” who had struggled hard to bring the idea to fruition.
Valerie Khan is among the activists who led the movement for setting up the juvenile justice system in Pakistan. She pointed out that the police station, the court room and criminal investigations are “traumatic experiences for little kids,” and that children who undergo trauma need “privacy, confidential support and psychotherapy”, which the new child court hopes to provide.
Khan highlighted that the main aim was to “avoid secondary victimisation of the child” and offer “rehabilitation rather than punishment for juvenile criminal behaviour” .
Court Mandate Align With International Standards
The court has been given a new mandate regarding the care and protection of children, which is in line with existing international standards.
Pakistan is a signatory of numerous international commitments with respect to child rights and has introduced several landmark laws such as the Prohibition of the Corporal Punishment Act 2013, Child Protection Act 2017, and the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 – all of which guarantees certain rights for children which may be in conflict with the law.
The Child Court in Lahore is a pilot project and there are plans to extend it to other districts based on its successful implementation and further assessment.
According to the CJ a special court for cases involving senior citizens is also being launched in Lahore after the establishment of separate courts for women and children.
