PCSW welcomes special courts for women

Appreciates ‘monumental step’ taken by LHC CJ to launch this court

LAHORE: Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) has welcomed the inauguration of a special court, on the premises of the district and sessions courts, to tackle cases of gender-based violence in Lahore.

This special court is the first of its kind and has been established for women and children who are victims of violence or are witnesses in such acts, especially rape. The court will expedite trials for all cases of violence against women and thus ensure that justice is not denied due to institutional or other delays. This development took place as per Supreme Court guidelines in the Salman Akram Raja vs Government of Punjab case (PLJ 2013 SC 107).



PCSW Chairperson Fauzia Viqar commended the Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on setting up the special court. She was confident that the institution would encourage more women to come forward and pursue criminal complaints with full confidence and complete privacy.

In appreciating the efforts of the CJ, she also said that establishment of the special court would bring about a culture of gender sensitivity in the criminal justice system, which will eventually trickle down to all judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and other stakeholders within the system.

While lauding the historical step, the chairperson said CJ Mansoor Ali Shah fully understood the issues faced by women during trials, including intimidation tactics, undue delays, resiling witnesses and discomfort due to the environment of a courtroom. She said this monumental initiative taken by the LHC CJ furthered his belief that women and children must be given special protection during trial.



In every district

A sessions court dealing exclusively with cases of violence against women will be established in every district.

This was claimed by Chief Minister Strategic Reforms Unit Director General Salman Sufi during a press conference at the DG Public Relations office in Lahore. Sufi claimed that Violence against Women Center Multan has shown excellent performance over a short span from March to September. At least 1,143 cases were registered at the centre during the period and 952 of them were solved, he claimed.



Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2017.