From Structural Violence to Legal Accountability: Realising Article 19 of the CRC in Pakistan

Abstract

This article critically examines Pakistan's persistent failure to fulfil its binding obligations under Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, which requires protection from all forms of physical and mental violence. More than three decades after ratification, violence persist in homes, schools, workplaces, communities and online. Using General Comment No. 13 (2011) as the interpretive lens, the article undertake a doctrinal and policy analysis of constitutional and statutory text, case law, and institutional reports, and assesses practice against the four interlocking pillars of prohibition, prevention, protection and participation. It identifies three entrenched flaws sustaining non- compliance: 1) legislative fragmentation between federal and provincial regimes ; 2) weak, under-resourced institutions compounded by chronic fiscal neglect; and 3) socio-cultural norms that legitimize corporal punishment, child labour, early marriage, and other harmful practices. Empirical data underscores both prevalence and long-term public health harms. The article concludes with a rights- based reform agenda centered on absolute legal bans, prevention-first strategies, survivor-centred services, mandatory training for all professional working with children, meaningful child participation,and ring-fenced public financing.