Gender-based violence sees surge
Women chant slogans and hold placards at a Women’s Day rally in Lahore. Photo: PPI
A research report prepared by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) revealed that the number of cases of violence against women in Punjab was alarmingly high in 2023. As many as 10,201 cases of violence and 6,624 rape were reported during 2023.
Lahore emerged as the hotspot of violence against women with 1,464 cases and Faisalabad is the hotspot of rape with 728 cases.
A total of 10,201 cases of violence were recorded against PPC 354 and PPC 509 in the year 2023, which was substantially higher than the 8,787 cases reported in 2022.
This would mean that approximately 28 cases of violence were reported every single day in 2023. Among all districts, Lahore was a hotspot of violent crime against women, accounting for 1464 cases, followed by Sheikhupura (1,198) and Kasur (877).
Likewise, the number of rape cases in the province was also a cause of concern as a total of 6,624 cases were reported across the province in 2023, which meant that approximately after every 45 minutes, a woman was raped.
Faisalabad emerged as a hotspot district with 728 cases, followed closely by Lahore (721) and Sargodha (398). Other rampant crimes against women included kidnapping and honour killing.
A total of 626 women were kidnapped in Punjab in 2023, with Lahore (136), Faisalabad (30) and Vehari (26) as hotspots.
Moreover, 120 cases of honour killing were also reported, with Rahim Yar Khan (9), Jhang (8) and Rajanpur (8) as hotspots. Finally, 20 cases of trafficking in persons were also reported, with 19 of them from Chiniot.
Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director at SSDO stated, “These numbers paint a very scary picture regarding the high prevalence of violence against women in the province of Punjab. It is crucial for all relevant stakeholders to jointly work together to eradicate this issue and make the province safer for women.”
This data was collected by filing a “Right to Information” request with the Punjab Police under Article 19-A of the constitution.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2024.