Search
Close this search box.

Contact

Search
Close this search box.

In a first, a crisis centre for Multan’s women

MULTAN: The first-ever women’s crisis centre to provide assistance to women exposed to domestic violence will be completed in Multan by the end of this month.

“The aim of setting up a women crisis centre is to provide justice to the victims of cruelty, domestic violence and sexual abuse,” said Multan District Coordination Officer Nadir Chatta while on a visit to the centre on Thursday.

After the completion of the project, the women of South Punjab will be able to register their complaints against the violence inflicted on them.

Nadir said that this centre was the part of implementation of laws and policies enacted to address the issues being faced by women. He added it was a pity the women of South Punjab were unable to get justice because of traditional police culture.

The centre will provide all facilities, including first aid, FIR lodging, police reporting, prosecution, medical examination forensics and post-rehabilitation services to the survivors of violence, he said, adding that the entire staff would comprise females.

The facility has been established on the directions of the Punjab chief minister. The project started in October 2015 at the cost of Rs14 million. The chief minister would inaugurate the centre.

District Officer Coordination Zahid Ikram and Executive District Officer Community Development Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor accompanied the DCO during his visit.

According to the data collected by an NGO working for the women rights, Aurat Foundation, around 7,010 cases of violence against women were reported in different parts of Punjab in 2014. Similarly, 1,707 cases of kidnapping were reported during the same year. Also, almost 340 cases of honour killings were registered in the province which is the highest in Punjab compared to the other provinces of the country.

According to a report released by Multan Civil Society Network in 2013, a number of incidents of violence against women, including honour killings, acid attacks, kidnappings, killings, rape, domestic torture, suicide, police torture and Wani, occurred in Multan District.

The report stated that 278 women were killed in the region in 2013 against 199 of 2012, while 265 were kidnapped against 606 of 2012. Similarly, 14 acid throwing incidents were registered in the region against 53 of the last year, while eight women were set on fire against 17 of 2012.

The Express Tribune