Owing to the low conviction rate and flaws in prosecution, sexual and gender-based violence in Pakistan continues to pose a grave threat to the safety and well-being of women and children creating lifelong mental and physical health challenges for victims.Despite existing laws such as the Pakistan Penal Code sections 509, 354A, and 294 that criminalise various forms of sexual and gender-based violence, many victims encounter formidable obstacles when seeking justice.
A latest report by an advocacy organisation, War Against Rape (WAR), cites data taken from the Punjab home department and ministry of human rights, according to which 21,900 women were raped in the province between 2017 and 2021.
This chilling statistic translates to an average of 12 women raped daily or one woman assaulted every two hours.However, the advocacy organisation believes these figures represent only the tip of the iceberg due to various barriers survivors face, including stigma, fear, victim-blaming, and systemic biases in the justice system. Early and forced marriages of children remain a significant human rights violation in Pakistan, affecting nearly 18 per cent of women. Shockingly, approximately 19 million child brides still exist in the country. The minimum legal age for marriage varies across provinces, with Sindh setting it at 18 for both boys and girls, while other provinces allow girls to marry at just 16.
Domestic violence also plagues city, with the police surgeon’s office in the city reporting 3,649 cases in 2022 alone. From July 2022 to June 2023, a WAR team investigated 66 cases of different forms of sexual violence.Among these cases, 44 survivors were children under 18 years.
with the most vulnerable age group being 4-11 years. The average age of survivors was only 13 years, with the youngest survivor being mere four years old. Of these cases, 85 per cent involved women and girl children.
Of the total 66 cases, 35 were rape cases, 11 were gang rape cases, another 11 were attempted rapes, and nine involved incest. Alarmingly.
