ISLAMABAD: The Sindh Police registered an alarmingly high number of FIRs of cases of violence against women and children, says a research by the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO).

From January 1 2023 to 30th April 2023, 771 cases of violence against women were reported to the police, while 142 cases of violence against children were reported. Considering social taboos in Pakistan, where people are very unlikely to report such cases to the police, SSDO believes that the actual frequency of unreported cases may be even higher.

Looking at specific types of crimes, a staggeringly high number of 529 women were kidnapped in Sindh during these four months, which meant that on average, multiple women were kidnapped daily.

These numbers paint a very discouraging picture of women’s safety in the province.

The next highest numbers were seen in cases of domestic violence (119), demonstrating that women were at increased risk of violence in both the public and private spheres.

In addition, 56 cases of rape and 37 cases of honour killing were also reported across Sindh in this period. In all of this, the districts of Karachi Central, Hyderabad and Keamari emerged as hotspot districts of violent crimes against women, as out of a total of 771 cases, 63, 58 and 54 cases respectively were reported from only these three districts.

In terms of violence against children, it was horrifying to observe that sexual violence was the most prevalent, with a total of 67 cases. Furthermore, 41 children were also kidnapped in this short period. Unfortunately, 16 cases of child marriage and 14 cases of child labour were also reported to the Sindh Police. Out of 142 total cases of violence against children, Karachi South (21), Keamari (16) and Karachi West (13) emerged as hotspot districts with the highest frequencies of crimes against children. Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director, SSDO stated, “The aim of publishing this data is to bring attention to the rapid increase in violence against women and children. During just the first four months of this year, over 900 different cases of this nature occurred. We hope that with increased media attention and reporting, the government, police and judiciary dedicate their attention to speedy processing, resolution and punishment of offenders, to ensure the safety of all citizens, particularly women and children.”

This data was collected through filing a “Right to Information” request to the Sindh Police, through Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, it said.

Source: The News