More than 14,000 rape cases were reported in Pakistan during the past four years, the Human Rights Ministry told the National Assembly on Friday.
In response to a question by PPP MNA Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, the Ministry submitted a written reply during today’s session. The MNA had asked the ministry about the cases of harassment and rape in the country since 2018 as well as the steps taken by the government to deal with it.
The ministry, in its written reply, said that during the last four years, 16,153 cases of sexual violence and workplace harassment were registered against women.
The document, based on information received from the National Police Bureau, is only for the first six months of the current year (January to June).
The ministry divided reported crimes into two categories: sexual violence and workplace harassment. The former were further divided into four sub-categories: rape, gang rape, detention and incest.
Incidents that occurred under the category of workplace harassment were also segregated according to their physical, sexual and psychological nature.
As per the breakdown provided by the ministry, 5,048 cases of sexual violence and workplace harassment were registered in 2018, 4,751 in 2019, 4,276 in 2020 and 2,078 in 2021.
The data shows that Punjab reported the highest number of cases in 2018 (3,496), followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1,164) and Sindh (328). 4,326 rape cases were registered during the year.
In 2019, Punjab again reported the highest number of cases (4,089), followed by Sindh (346) and KP (259). This year also 4,377 rape cases were registered.
A similar trend was also observed in 2020, with the highest number of cases again being reported from Punjab (3,250), Sindh (386) and KP (299). Around 3,887 cases of rape were also registered.
Meanwhile, data till June 2021 shows Punjab (1,687), Sindh (226) and KP (125) reported the maximum number of cases. Gilgit-Baltistan recorded no cases while 1,886 rape cases were registered till June.
The ministry also highlighted the steps taken by the government to curb such incidents, stating that a project called ‘Human Rights Awareness Programme’ will create “awareness among the public with special focus on the rights of women and children”. to be born”.
The ministry said it also regularly organizes awareness programs with special sessions on women’s rights and pro-women laws, adding that it also has a free helpline (1099) for legal advice regarding human rights violations. is operating.
The ministry noted that the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2021 were also enacted recently.
The ministry said it has launched a public awareness campaign on child abuse, while the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat to Protect Against Abuse of Women also runs print and electronic campaigns to reach victims of abuse.
“In addition, the field units of the police are sensitized by the provincial/regional police offices to provide awareness about sexual harassment to the general public,” the ministry said.
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