Child Abuse in Automobile Workshops in Islamabad, Pakistan

Sarfraz Khan1, Sana Mehmood2 & Syed Imran Haider3

Abstract
Every year, approximately one million children become victims of abuse
by peers, teachers, parents and Ustad (master or the head mechanic). The Ustad
sodomize these children at workshops, where they come to gain skills, and earn
for their families’ livelihood. The purpose of this study was to analyze the nature
and intensity of child abuse in automobile workshops in Islamabad, and to know
the self-perception of these victimized children about such actions of their
masters. The social learning theory, which is the most applicable theory to study
child abuse, explains that the abuse is learned through actions and observations.
The masters learned the abusive behavior from their masters, and thus the vicious
cycle goes on from one generation to another in the same pattern. The researchers
have used the qualitative research approach, and the data were collected from ten
(10) automobile workshops in Barakahu, Islamabad, through semi-structured indepth interviews (IDIs) with the children and their masters. The findings of the
research showed that children with ages ranging from 14 to 17 years, work as
trainees for more than 11 hours a day, at different automobile workshops in
Islamabad, where they fall victim to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. They
faced abuse frequently, but they were unable to complain anywhere, as they..

Keywords: Child Abuse, Social Learning Theory, Physical, Sexual and emotional
Abuse, Automobile Workshops, Islamabad, Pakistan.