‘Hardly 2% of domestic violence, rape cases end up in conviction’

Rights activists, journalists discuss violence at a conference titled ‘Rape and Sexual Assault: Myth and Reality’

HYDERABAD: As violence against women, especially rape cases become more rampant, rights activists have underscored the need for support from society and state besides perseverance of victims to get justice and prevent crimes. Activists and journalists from Karachi and Hyderabad dwelt at length on the subject at a conference titled 'Rape and Sexual Assault: Myth and Reality'. The event was organised by the Women Action Forum (WAF) at the Sindhi Language Authority hall in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Speaking in the first session, Sarah Zaman of War Against Rape (WAR) said the conviction rate in rape cases in Punjab is hardly 10%. "In 74% of the cases, witnesses seem to have withdrawn out of fear," she pointed out, deploring that the lack of witness protection mechanisms was the underlying cause.

Zaman noted that the new legislation has ensured a quick trial of rape cases but enforcement is still lacking. She said the trial courts are supposed to give the verdict within three months of the institution of the FIR while three more months are provided to decide upon the appeal. Defence and prosecution lawyers are not allowed to discuss the past or the character of a woman rape victim, she added.

Zaman maintained that the DNA test did not establish rape for which medico legal officer's clinical examination of the rape victim is vital besides other evidences. "But neither such expert MLOs are available nor the existing lot are given training to deal with rape cases."

Nazish Brohi, journalist, observed that victimised women have begun to turn to the state for justice because they have lost faith in the jirga and community providing ‘justice’. She believed that even one percent conviction in rape cases should be considered success.

In the second session, WAF's Fareeha Aziz and Amar Sindhu narrated the story of an acid attack victim from Ghotki district. Sindhu said that a police constable poured acid on the sensitive organ of a woman in March this year. Jehangir Chandio, the man who allegedly committed this act, claimed that the woman herself committed the act and implicated him in the acid attack because he refused to marry her. "Chandio used police to frighten and influence the victim's family and she eventually withdrew the allegation," said Sindhu.

Aziz recalled that the victim was brought to Karachi for treatment. According to her, the family could not even afford to stay in Karachi. She claimed that Ghotki police, which registered the FIR against Chandio, deliberately weakened the case by not inserting relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

"We used to visit the burns centre [of civil hospital Karachi] daily to get the medical report of the acid attack but the doctors always evaded." She said that WAF approached the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women as well but to no avail.

"We came to know later that the victim changed her statement against the policeman. And now where she lives and in what condition we don't know," she lamented, pointing out that this is one instance of how the state failed to protect a female victim from her oppressors.

The Sindh Acid and Crime Control Prevention Bill 2016, is gathering dust. It has not been enacted so far. The bill aims to provide speedy justice to acid attack survivors.

Sindhu also shared the story of endurance and perseverance of a rape victim who withstood pressures and fought the legal battle for almost nine years to get the culprits convicted. Last month a court in Sanghar district convicted four men with the death penalty, and two with life imprisonment in the case, according to Sindhu.

The convicts recorded an objectionable video of a college girl, who is the complainant in the case, and uploaded it on Youtube in 2010 after blackmailing her and her family for extortion. Sindhu said WAF's fact-finding team then visited Khipro town of Sanghar and also met with other victims of the convicts. "At least 10 families told us that they were blackmailed similarly," she claimed.

She recalled that the incident had then stirred up a political and ethnic situation in the town because the convicts were Urdu speaking and the girl was Sindhi. "Many people asked the family to take revenge assuring of their support. But WAF counseled the family to take the legal course," she said.

Aziz, meanwhile, pointed out the shortcomings in the implementation of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, which pertains to cyber crimes like sharing objectionable photos or videos on social media. "There was a myth that when this law would be passed cyber crimes would not occur.”

She said that organisers and participants of the 'Aurat March' were threatened, abused and ridiculed on social media but the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) did not take action. "There is a dearth of will and resources for enforcement of the Act on part of the authorities," she argued.

Mahim Maher, editor of Samma News Digital, said women do not appear in news stories until they are killed or raped. Some women political figures or women who make big achievements though get space in the news. She shared a 2016 survey of 21,949 stories published in six newspapers and 1,035 news channel stories among which only 74 articles pertained to women.

Maher also spoke about the deficiencies in the structure of news reports related to violence against women. "In my newsroom, I banned the use of word 'allegedly' when reporting a rape incident. I ask reporters to quote the police and the woman [survivor] instead of writing allegedly."

She contended that often, the news art depicting a survivor of violence makes flawed illustrations. Maher emphasised that the media should follow ethics to avoid mentioning name, publish photograph or telecast video of a survivor.

Mustafa Baloch of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) recounted the incident of Mukhtara Mai's rape and the subsequent trial and media coverage of the incident.

During the question and answer session, Maher said social media can keep a check on news reports which fail to follow the ethical guidelines in stories on violence against women. "Social media [users] can even force a TV channel to apologise," she said while referring to a recent incident in which a private news channel apologized for the conduct of an anchorperson.

Responding to queries and criticism, Aziz and Sindhu clarified that the WAF is a non-funded organisation and that it even lacks a legal team. They asked lawyers to volunteer for the forum.

Prof Arfana Mallah, a women rights activist and the president of Sindh University Teachers Association, while reading out recommendations, said separate courts should be established for rape and domestic violence cases. She said the existing percentage of conviction is hardly 2%. The enforcement of the ban on jirga and panchayats and the appointment of female medico legal officers was also demanded. The need for social education and sensitisation on violence against women besides stringent laws and their enforcement was also highlighted.