P L D 2000 Lahore 449
Before Tassaduq Hussain Jilani and Nasim Sikandar, JJ
THE STATE‑‑‑Petitioner
versus
ABDUL MALIK alias MALKOO‑‑‑Respondent
Criminal Revision No. 16 of 2000, decided on 3rd February, 2000
Date of hearing: 3rd February, 2000.
JUDGMENT
TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILANI, J.‑‑‑On 6‑9‑1999, Ghulam Yasin father of Mst. Kalsoon aged 6/7 …
- Coming to the second point i.e. whether child molestation includes rape of a child, We note that the expression “child molestation” has not been defined in any law in Pakistan. The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th Edition, defines the word molest as under:‑
(i) annoy or pester(a person) in a hostile or injurious way;
(ii) attach or interfere with (a person) specifically sexually.
The term “child molestation” is some times used as synonymous to child abuse. However, they do not always refer to the same transaction. Child abuse could take more than one forms as under:‑‑
(i) physical beatings to a child or subjecting him to severe beatings, burns, strangulation, or human bites. ,
(ii) Neglecting a child by not providing the basic necessities of life including refusal or delay in providing food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and education, as well as abandonment and inadequate supervision.
(iii) Emotional abuse is a kind of behaviour that attacks a child’s emotional development and sense of self‑esteem. Examples include constant criticizing, belittling, insulting, rejecting, and providing no love, support, or guidance.
(iv) Sexual molestation is the sexual exploitation of a child, including rape, incest, fondling of the genitals, pornography, or exhibitionism.
Thus child molestation would certainly be a child abuse but all acts of child abuse would not necessarily be child molestation. Sexual molestation of child could be of various types. It could be fondling of the genital organs of the child, or it could be showing him nude photographs to arouse his sexual emotions or it could be in form of physical nudity with the object of sexually provoking or exploiting a child. Most of the foregoing acts have not been B specifically made offences in our criminal law nor the rape of a child has been separately catered to. The rape of a child… is an aggravated form of child molestation and a person who is proved to have committed the offence would be punished in terms of the punishment provided in the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979.