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160 rape cases reported in 2013

By: Arshad Dogar

LAHORE: Around 160 cases of rape/gang rape have been reported during the first nine months of current year in the provincial metropolis which is almost double as compared to the last year as in 2012 around 72 such cases were reported in City.

Although, the data tabled in annual report of an NGO, police record and presented in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reports varies from each other but one thing has been proved through comparative study of the facts that the ratio of unreported cases is remarkably very high and the system is needed to be overhauled to encourage the rape victims to fight for justice.

The data compiled by Lahore Police shows that around 110 cases of rape and 27 cases of gang rape have been reported from January 01, 2013 to August 15, 2013.

The incident of 5-year-old minor girl in Mughalpura and 6-year-old girl in Sundar areas of Lahore, however, brought the focus of human rights activists, police, prosecution department and media towards the heinous nature of crime and problems being faced by the victims and their families. Lahore Police have so far failed to trace the rapists of 5-year-old minor of Mughalpura despite the lapse of over one and a half month.

The annual report of an NGO for the year 2012 shows that around 822 cases of rape/gang rape were reported across the country, which were 11 percent of the total reported incidents under the category of violence against women (VAW) while 58 cases of sexual assault were reported during the same period.

Data from all over Pakistan shows that most of the districts from where the highest prevalence of VAW has been reported are in the Punjab as around 700 cases of rape/gang rape and 12 of sexual assault were reported only in the Punjab.

The data, available with The News, shows that the top 10 districts, where the incidents of sexual violence were reported, are also from the Punjab, including Okara with 72 cases, Rawalpindi 69, Lahore 59, Muzaffargarh 48, Sargodha 38, Gujranwala 31, Dera Ghazi Khan 30, Chakwal 30 and Pakpattan 27.

It is astonishing to note that 26 districts out of the total 36 districts had not reported even a single case of sexual assault.

The News