Sexual violence: Coerced ‘compromises’ a hurdle for prosecution

Around 416 cases of sexual assault reported in city since January 1 this year .

LAHORE: Despite an upsurge in reporting of incidents of sexual violence or harassment of women, prosecution of these cases remains extremely tricky due to coercion by offenders to force out-of-court ‘compromises’.

According to data available with The Express Tribune on registered FIRs, around 3,400 cases of rape, gang-rape and outraging the modesty of women were registered in Lahore alone from January 2014 to mid-May 2017. The shocking figures show that on average, three women in the city fall victim to a sexual crime every day.

Punjab University Social Sciences Dean Dr Muhammad Zikriya Zakir said sexual violence against women had decreased slightly, but reporting has improved during the last couple of years.

The professor said that if a poor woman fell victim to such violence, she was forced to withdraw the case in the name of ‘reconciliation’ through persuasion or coercion. If the victim did not give up and contested the case, there was no chance of conviction, he added. Unfortunately, “All these factors provide offenders with an incentive to commit an offence,” he said, adding that a poor person has no option but to opt for reconciliation.

A week ago in Model Town, a young maid named M* was sexually assaulted and killed by her employers. Police registered a case against the suspects and took them into custody. According to the autopsy report, the victim was sexually assaulted before being strangulated. Investigation Officer SI Muhammad Rafique told The Express Tribune that they have sent DNA samples to Punjab Forensic Science Agency and are waiting for the reports.

“The decrease in the number of cases of sexual violence took place due to public awareness and vigilance of the media,” he said. While quoting an example from the case of M*, he said the case was well reported and action was taken against the culprits. “Maids are voiceless and powerless, but despite that, her case was reported.”



Aurat Foundation Lahore Director Mumtaz Mughal pointed out that identifying the reasons behind the increase in sexual violence against women is complex. “Failure to convict and a sense of impunity among culprits is, in such cases, the main reason,” she said.

“Our social norms and values do not support women who suffer sexual assaults. Instead, they are advised to stay quiet because a case reporting will bring a ‘bad name’ to the family,” she said. She added that women also stay silent because the government does not support them and does not provide shelter to women whose family members sexually assault them, pointing at a case reported in mid-April. A woman alleged that her father-in-law had sexually assaulted her. Investigation Officer Maqbool Ahmad said that police have sent DNA tests and a polygraph to the forensic lab and were waiting for results.

Meanwhile, the 416 registered cases suggest a 52% increase compared to 2014’s 274 cases, a 20% increase when compared to 346 cases registered in 2015, and a 7% decrease when compared to 447 cases registered in 2016.



Rape

In 2017, 114 cases of rape were registered in Lahore –a 63% increase over the 70 cases registered in 2014, a 28% increase when compared to 89 cases registered in 2015, and a 17% decrease when compared to 137 cases registered in 2016. At least 114 cases were reported in the first 135 days of 2017 – almost one rape every day.

Gang rape

According to the data, the number of cases of gang rape registered over the last four years has not had major variances, although the numbers remain worrying, with almost two gang rapes reported every week. During the current year, 41 cases of gang-rape have been registered so far, a 5% increase when compared to 39 cases registered in 2014, but a 13% decrease when compared to 47 cases registered in 2015, and a 7% decrease when compared to 44 cases registered in 2016.

Outraging modesty of women

So far this year, 261 cases have been registered under the lesser offence, a 58% increase when compared to 165 cases registered in 2014, a 24% increase when compared to 210 cases registered in 2015, and a 2% decrease when compared to 266 cases registered in 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2017.