Child Abuse in Pakistan: A Sociological Examination of Contributing Factors

The study explores phenomenon of child abuse in Pakistan. It focuses on various kind of abuse like emotional, sexual and physical. Regardless of the presence of legal frameworks it remains a significant problem influenced by poverty, lack of education and cultural norms normalizing abusive behavior. The study employs sociological theories, like the cycle of violence, social situation theory, and cultural model, to understand complex roots of child abuse. It highlights how social forces, including household size, gender norms, and parental education levels, contribute to prevalence of abuse. Using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Punjab (2017-2018) a logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify correlates of psychological, moderate physical, and severe physical abuse among children aged 5 to 14 years. The findings indicate that boys as compared to girls are more likely to experience abuse, wealth status negatively correlates with abuse, and household size positively correlates with abuse.