ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani non-profit organisation and the German Embassy in Pakistan have joined hands to raise awareness about the issue of child sexual abuse.
The producers of “Super Sohni”, an animated series whose titular main character fights sexual violence against children, hope the show will help children recognise what constitutes abuse and empower survivors to speak up.
According to the data collected by the child protection organisation Sahil, more than 10 children experienced sexual abuse in Pakistan every day between January and June, an increase of two cases a day compared to the same period last year.
“Super Sohni,” created by the Lahore-based non-profit organisation Samaaj in collaboration with the German embassy in Islamabad, goes on air at the end of this month. The first season focuses on the sexual abuse of girls and has 10 episodes that will be released weekly on social media platforms. For the second season, the producers plan to cover the abuse faced by boys.
“We are hoping that when children get to watch ‘Super Sohni,’ they become more aware and they are well-equipped to recognize the signs of abuse and they can fearlessly speak up with their parents or caregivers,” says Sehyr Mirza, executive director of Samaaj.
“Most of these cases still go unreported because of the element of shame and dishonour which is attached to it. Awareness is the first step toward prevention and eradication,” she said. “We thought that maybe it would be a good idea to use animation as a medium to grab the interest of a younger audience in order to educate them.”
Samaaj co-founder Ammar Aziz said making the series had been an emotional journey.
“Even though we’ve not covered boys’ experiences in the first season — the first phase of our project, the Girls’ Sexual Abuse Prevention Programme — I could personally relate to a lot of experiences when we were researching and writing the series,” Aziz said.
Mirza added that though many boys were victims of child sexual abuse, the producers had decided to focus first on minor girls as they made up 70 percent of victims.
Germany’s ambassador to Pakistan, Bernhard Schlagheck, who shared the series trailer on social media earlier this month, expressed hope the project could help equip children with the knowledge and confidence they need to stay safe:
“Our partners @TheSamaaj are launching a video series to raise awareness about the important issue of sexual abuse. A very engaging project that can hopefully equip many children with the knowledge, skills & confidence they need to stay safe from harm. Really looking forward to it!”
Our partners @TheSamaaj are launching a video series to raise awareness about the important issue of sexual abuse. A very engaging project that can hopefully equip many children with the knowledge, skills & confidence they need to stay safe from harm.Really looking forward to it! pic.twitter.com/5AI68Cxb2w
— Alfred Grannas (@GermanyinPAK) December 12, 2021
