Punjab Police registered an alarmingly high number of cases of gender-based violence (GBV) during the first four months of this year, the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), a research-based advocacy organisation revealed.
From January 1st to April 30, a total of 10,365 cases of GBV were reported to the police, while 1,768 cases of violence against children were reported in the same period.
This data was collected by filing a “Right to Information” request to the Punjab Police through Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The SSDO believes that the actual frequency of unreported cases may be far higher, as people are unlikely to report such cases to authorities, due to social stigmas and a lack of faith in law enforcement.
Looking at specific types of crimes, a staggeringly high number of 5,551 women were kidnapped in Punjab during the four-month period, meaning that on average, two women were kidnapped every hour. Out of all districts observed, Lahore led with 1,427 cases, meaning that one of every four victims were kidnapped from the provincial capital.
The next-highest numbers were seen in cases of physical assault, with a total of 2818, where Lahore once again remained the hotspot of crime with 504 incidents.
Sheikhupura followed behind with 262 incidents and Faisalabad with 225. In addition, 1,111 cases of rape and 613 cases of human trafficking were also reported across Punjab, where once again Lahore accounted for the highest number of cases, with 139 and 210 respectively. As many as 117 rape cases were also reported from Faisalabad.
A significant number of cases of violence against women in the private sphere were also reported. As many as 219 cases of domestic violence were reported, where Gujranwala led the statistics with 64 cases, followed by Lahore with 38. Moreover, 53 cases of honour killing were also reported, with the most (8) reported in Rahim Yar Khan.
In terms of violence against children, sexual violence was the most prevalent offence, with a sickening total of 858 cases.
On average, this would mean that almost 7 children are sexually abused every single day.
Among the hotspot districts were Faisalabad with 82 cases and Lahore with 74. Furthermore, 613 children were also kidnapped in this short time span, an average of 5 children per day.
One-third of these cases, 210, were reported from Lahore. Along with kidnapping, 221 children were also subject to human trafficking, with Chiniot accounting for almost one-fifth of the cases. Furthermore, 48 children were also murdered, while 24 cases of child labour and 4 cases of child marriage were also reported.
Executive Director SSDO Syed Kausar Abbas stated, ‘We believe that the Punjab Police is doing a remarkable job registering cases of violence against women and children, which is why increased numbers are observed in the reporting.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2023.
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