Sindh sex crime convictions rise to 32%
The conviction rate in sexual-crime cases in Sindh has increased from 7 per cent to 32 per cent, the Ministry of Human Rights secretary told a meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Gender Mainstreaming on Friday.
The meeting, chaired by PPP's Dr Nafisa Shah, discussed the investigation and prosecution of gender-based violence cases, implementation of relevant laws and the need to strengthen mechanisms for dealing with serious sexual offences.
The secretary, however, said that despite the improvement in Sindh, the ministry had observed that most cases of gender-based violence did not result in convictions. "We have noticed that in most cases of gender-based violence, there are no convictions," the secretary said.
He said the ministry's focus was on reporting cases after investigations, while provinces and districts were responsible for taking necessary measures. The federal authorities, he added, should at least monitor the situation from the centre.
Member Shaista Pervaiz said the country had many laws, but they were not being implemented effectively. She said numerous incidents of rape and sexual exploitation continued to surface.
Shaista, who belongs to the PML-N, also remarked that human rights activists often argued that punishments should not be awarded, adding that this would only create more work for them.
Committee member Shahida Begum of the JUI-F called for strengthening the police and said legislation relating to serious crimes should also be sufficiently deterrent.
The committee also discussed the Hina Javed case. Member Shahid Rehmani of the PPP said it was a positive step that the case was being discussed by the committee.
He observed that the recent cases of sexual vioelce reported from Haripur, Karachi and Rawalpindi generated public attention for only a few days before being forgotten.
On August 20, Hina Javed was found dead in the bathroom of an apartment in Rawalpindi under mysterious circumstances. Later, the police booked her husband and in-laws as suspects in the case.
Dr Nafisa Shah said the committee also had to work on several other issues, including the Zainab Alert Tracking system. The secretary told the committee that the Zainab Alert Tracking system was functional.
Regarding Punjab, the secretary said the ministry had expected the conviction rate to increase there as well. He stressed the need for dedicated cells to investigate serious crimes such as rape.
Dr Nafisa Shah asked whether such a cell existed.
The secretary replied that establishing such a cell was the responsibility of the police and asked the committee to make a recommendation in this regard.
The chairperson said the initiative should begin with Islamabad.
"Let us start with Islamabad. This matter and the Zainab Alert will be discussed in detail at the next committee meeting," Dr Nafisa said.
The secretary further said that all cases involving gender-based violence would be referred to the serious crimes investigation department.