STATISTICS on domestic violence (DV) in Pakistan affirm a reality of which we are all aware — that a large proportion of women remain unsafe even in their homes.
According to the National Commission on Human Rights, 90 per cent of women in Pakistan have been victims of some form of DV in their lifetime. The Ministry of Human Rights reported 63,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) from 2020-2023, 80pc of which relate to complaints of DV (NCHR, 2023). In 2023, 10,201 cases of DV were reported in Punjab alone. These figures capture only a small proportion of the actual incidence of DV, which remains highly underreported.
The spate of violence against women in the home has persisted despite legislative efforts by the state and the silent work of several civil society actors who have continued to raise awareness on the issue, and provided shelter and support to victims. Over the last decade, the provincial governments have passed laws for the protection of DV victims and the redressal of their grievances. But unfortunately, the law-to-deterrence equation has not been borne out. This equation, of course, is not so straightforward as various factors impinge on its working. To delve into these factors is beyond the scope of this article, which focuses on the ill-fated DV legislation in Punjab, which is now, it is hoped, at a stage of revival.
The Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act, passed in 2016, introduced an ambitious scheme for the protection of women against not just domestic violence but also sexual violence, psychological abuse, economic abuse, stalking, and cybercrime. Notably though, it did not criminalise such violence. Instead, it introduced a set of civil remedies that a family court may award upon being approached by a female victim. The court may pass protection orders, residence orders, monetary orders and interim orders to, respectively, protect a female victim by imposing restraints on the perpetrator’s movements, ensure that she is not displaced from her home and is provided safe and secure residence, financially compensate and support her, and provide immediate relief where the circumstances so justify. A violation of these orders amounts to a criminal offence.
Resolve is needed to enforce the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act in its true spirit.
The Act also provided for the establishment of an organisational network at the district level, comprising district Women Protection Committees (WPCs) and Protection Centres (VAWCs), to coordinate the provision of essential services and necessary support to female victims of violence.
Significantly, VAWCs were designed to help bridge the departmental disconnect in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against women by bringing first aid, police reporting, lodging FIRs, prosecution, medical examination, forensics, mediation, and rehabilitation available under one roof, thereby streamlining the process of accessing justice and eventually helping shore up the abysmally low conviction rate in GBV cases. The Act further mandated the establishment of shelter homes in each district to provide shelter to and rehabilitate female victims and their dependent children.
Much fanfare surrounded the launch of the first state-of-the-art flagship VAWC in Multan, where the law was initially notified. However, political disinterest and disownment following the change of government in 2018, coupled with the budgetary requirements of funding the mammoth infrastructure for execution of the Act, meant that the law and the lofty objectives it espoused remained largely forgotten. Although the VAWC in Multan continued to operate, to varying degrees of success, its functioning was marred by poor coordination and understaffing. The government further failed to notify the Act across the province, which remained confined in its application to Multan. The protections introduced through the Act therefore remained inaccessible to the vast majority of female victims of DV in Punjab.
It was not until 2022, after some judicial pushing and encouragement by the Lahore High Court, that the Act was notified across Punjab, and amended so that existing facilities could be declared as VAWC and shelter homes. The government has now declared 36 existing Darul Amans in Punjab as shelter homes and notified 11 existing Benazir Bhutto Human Rights Crisis Centres and 25 Darul Amans as VAWCs. In a more recent judgement, the LHC directed the government to formulate and notify rules under the Act; constitute and notify WPCs; provide training to women protection officers; and establish a database and software for efficient service delivery, monitoring and evaluation. Judicial intervention may well have set things in motion.
In the current provincial government, the first female chief minister has declared a zero-tolerance policy on violence against women. The VAWC in Lahore, which falls far short of the structure envisaged under the Act, is providing legal and psychological support to female victims of violence, while liaising with the police, medico-legal officers, and prosecution to ensure implementation of the Act. The District Women Protection Officer (WPOs), Lahore has secured protection, residence and monetary orders for women in a handful of cases.
However, challenges abound. The belief that DV is a private/ familial matter remains entrenched across the legal system, which attaches a premium to settlement as opposed to prosecution in such cases. The delay in the issuance of relevant interim orders by the courts, at times leaves victims of DV at the mercy of their perpetrators. Assistance by the police to enforce the orders is not always forthcoming. Poor coordination between police, the prosecution and medico-legal departments, means that victims and/ or WPOs often find themselves stuck in a bureaucratic maze. Budgetary constraints limit the quality of services provided to aggrieved persons as well as the extent of rehabilitative measures that can be undertaken. However, it is hoped that this government, with its apparent resolve on the issue, will undertake measures to implement the 2016 law in its true spirit.
The writer is a lawyer.
Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2025
