ISLAMABAD: A civil society organisation in a report has highlighted the concerning scale of gender-based violence (GBV) and the extremely low conviction rates in Pakistan, emphasising the need for urgent reforms in law enforcement and judicial systems.
The report ‘Mapping Gender-Based Violence (GBV) 2024’ released by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) provided a province-wise analysis of rape, honour killings, kidnapping/abduction, and domestic violence across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
According to the report, a total of 32,617 cases of GBV were reported nationwide in 2024 - 5,339 incidents of rape, 24,439 incidents of kidnapping/abduction, 2238 cases of domestic violence and 547 cases of honour killing.
Despite these alarming figures, conviction rates remained critically low across all provinces. The national level conviction rate of rape stood at a mere 0.5 per cent while honour killings also saw only 0.5pc convictions.
Think tank seeks urgent reforms in law enforcement and judicial systems
Punjab recorded a total of 26,753 registered cases. The province reported 225 honour killing cases, but only two convictions.
For rape, Punjab had 4,641 cases with a conviction rate of merely 0.4pc. Kidnapping and abduction cases were alarmingly high at 20,720, yet only 16 convictions were made. Domestic violence cases stood at 1,167, with just three convictions. KP recorded 3,397 GBV cases in total and reported 134 cases of honour killing with two convictions. Rape cases stood at 258, and one conviction was reported. Kidnapping and abduction cases reached 943 with only one conviction. Domestic violence cases in KP totalled 446, but no convictions were recorded.
Sindh registered 1,781 GBV cases and honour killings accounted for 134 cases, but none led to convictions.
The province recorded 243 rape cases, again with no convictions. Kidnapping and abduction cases were reported at 2,645 with zero convictions. Domestic violence cases stood at 375, but no justice was served in terms of convictions.
Balochistan had a total of 398 GBV cases. The province recorded 32 cases of honour killing with just one conviction. Rape cases were reported at 21 with zero convictions. Kidnapping and abduction cases stood at 185, yet no convictions were reported. Domestic violence cases were recorded at 160 with 25 convictions - the highest conviction count among all provinces for this category.
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) reported 220 GBV cases. Honour killings accounted for 22 cases with no convictions. The capital recorded 176 rape cases with only seven convictions. Kidnapping and abduction cases were not reported by data provided by the prosecution department. Domestic violence cases stood at 22 with no convictions recorded.
Syed Kausar Abbas, executive director of SSDO, said the report was based on data sourced from provincial police departments via Right of Access to Information (RTI) laws of the respective provinces.
He stressed the urgent need for meaningful reforms to protect survivors and hold offenders accountable.
“We need to strengthen police investigations, improve legal processes, and speed up trials so that survivors don’t have to wait years for justice,” he added.
Shahid Jatoi, director programme, stated that the SSDO report’s findings underscore deep-rooted challenges within Pakistan’s criminal justice system where inefficiencies, delays and systemic biases severely undermine justice for GBV survivors.
The abysmally low conviction rates such as 0.5pc for rape and honour killings nationally reflect a combination of weak investigations, inadequate evidence collection, societal stigma and a lack of judicial accountability.
Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2025
