Pakistan's Sindh police registers 771 cases of violence against women from January-April 2023: Report

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 25 : The Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) has revealed that the Sindh Police has lodged a high number of FIRs in cases of violence against women and children during the current year, Pakistan-based Daily Times reported citing APP.

From January 1, 2023, to April 30, 2023, 771 cases of violence against women have been reported to the police. Furthermore, 142 cases of violence against children have been reported, the report said.

Keeping in view, the social taboos in Pakistan, where people are very unlikely to report such cases to the police, SSDO thinks that the actual frequency of unreported cases might be even higher, Daily Times reported.

Considering specific types of crimes, 529 women were kidnapped in Sindh during these four months, which implies that on average, multiple women were kidnapped each day. These statistics portray a very discouraging image of women's safety in Sindh.

As many as 119 cases of domestic violence have been reported in Sindh, reflecting that women were at increased risk of violence in both the public and private sectors. Further, 56 cases of rape and 37 cases of honour killing were also reported across Sindh during this time.

Meanwhile, the districts of Karachi Central, Hyderabad and Keamari emerged as hotspot districts with regard to violent crimes against women. Out of a total of 771 cases, 63, 58 and 54 cases respectively were reported from these three districts alone, according to the report.

With regard to violence against children, sexual violence was the most prevalent with a total of 67 cases. In addition, 41 children were kidnapped during this time. Further, 16 cases of child marriage and 14 of child labour have been reported to the Sindh Police, the report noted.

Karachi South, Keamari and Karachi West emerged as hotspot districts with the highest frequencies of crimes against children, Daily Times reported citing APP. Of the total of 142 total cases of violence against children, 21, 16 and 13 cases were reported from these three districts.

Syed Kausar Abbas, executive director, SSDO, said, "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", Daily Times reported.

Abbas added, "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", added the news report.