LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has approved a request of the Punjab Women Protection Authority for posting of exclusive judges for cases reported at Violence Against Women Centre (VAWC), Multan.

According to officials on Wednesday, a request was submitted by the Punjab Women Protection Authority for notification of judges to exclusively deal with cases registered at the Multan VAWC, under directions by the chief minister.

“The LHC has accepted the request,” an official said.

The centre has dealt with over 1,534 cases of violence against women in one year.

According to the official, a family court judge shall serve as a trial court for all cases of the VAWC, whereas appeals will be heard by an additional district and sessions judge.

These would be highly experienced female judges, he said. Previously, the cases were randomly assigned to various judges. Now, they will be given to the nominated judges only.

He said the step was aimed at providing speedy justice to the victims of violence who approached to the VAWC for help.

In the second phase, an amendment is being introduced in the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act (PPWAVA) for the establishment of special courts to deal with cases of violence against women. The courts will be stationed on the VAWC premises and further facilitate the victims.

The first VAWC was established in Multan in March 2017. It is a 24-hour operational, women-run facility that houses the entire justice delivery mechanism under one roof. The services provided at the VAWC include police, medical assistance, prosecutors, free legal aid, counseling and mediation.

The VAWC has been declared a police station having medico legal facility and FIRs are registered there. It also serves as a forensic collection point.

Officials said the major challenge faced by the VAWC was delay in court proceedings. The main reason for the delay was that judges were already overburdened with the cases, they said

A large number of cases of violence against women surfaced in southern Punjab, they added.

The nomination of judges, in the first instance, would greatly help speed up the pace of adjudication, they hoped.

The VAWC was established after the passage of the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWAVA) 2016, introduced by the Strategic Reforms Unit to protect women from all kinds of violence, including domestic violence. It also provides civil remedies to women survivors of violence.

The SRU had also enacted the Punjab Women Protection Authority Act 2017 that regulates the anti-violence centres.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2018