Peshawar: Violence against women high

Peshawar is among 14 districts in the country with high incidence of violence against women over the first six months of the current year, according to an Aurat Foundation report. Other districts are Lahore, Okara, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujrat, DG Khan, Pakpattan, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal, Mirpurkhas, Sheikhupura and Ghotiki, said the ‘Violence Against Women In Pakistan Monitor (Jan-June 2012) report released here on Tuesday. According to the report, women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are at a high risk of subjugation but culture and societal norms in the province make it harder for women to report violence against them. During January and June this year, 283 VAW cases were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but the number is six per cent of the countrywide incidence of such crimes. Around 55 per cent of VAW incidents reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in six months were of murder totaling 157, while the province registered nine cases of abduction and kidnapping during the period. Overall, 32 cases of domestic violence, 23 of honour killing and 30 of suicide were reported in the province between Jan and June 2012. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the prevalence of sexual violence was reportedly low as seven cases of rape or gang rape were reported in six months. The rate of the registration of first information report for VAW was reportedly high in the province as FIRs of 65 per cent of the cases were reported during the first six months of the year. According to the report, FIRs were registered for 184 VAW cases but no FIR was registered for 82 cases. There is no information about the status of FIR for 17 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Statistics show 60 per cent of women who were subjected to violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were married. “A total of 1,170 married and 62 unmarried women were victims of violence of women in the province during the Jan-June 2012 period. There is no information available about the marital status of 51 victims of violence against women,” it said. The report said there was no information about the age of 69 per cent of VAW victims from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It added that 47 women subjected to violence were aged below 18 years, 33 between 19 and 36 years and seven over 36 years. According to the report, during the Jan-June 2012 period, the country reported 1,086 cases of women’s abduction and kidnapping, 792 of women’s murder, 435 of women’s rape or gang rape, 349 of suicide by women, 346 of honour killings, 298 of domestic violence against women, 50 of sexual assault against women, 46 of throwing acid on women, 32 of burning women and 1,160 of other kinds of VAW. It said the VAW numbers are based on media reports and the actual incidence of VAW is much higher. “All issues related to women are still considered a very private matter and are not frequently reported. Women are either forced to or prefer to suffer in silence,” it said.