ISLAMABAD: A report on gender-based violence has showed high levels of abuse in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2024 with hundreds of cases and almost no conviction.

The report said Balochistan recorded 21 rape, 185 kidnapping/abduction, 32 honour killing cases and 160 incidents of domestic violence in 2024 with no convictions across all indicators. It said KP reported 258 rape, 943 kidnapping/abduction, 134 honour killing and 446 domestic violence cases with only one conviction recorded.

The report “District Analysis of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) - Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2024)” was released by Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO).

The report presented alarming trends of underreporting, systemic justice gaps and district-specific hotspots of gender-based violence in the two provinces.

The study analysed four key indicators: rape, kidnapping/abduction, honour killings, and domestic violence across all districts of Balochistan and KP, using data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) requests under Article 19-A of the constitution and laws of the provinces.

It provides both the number of reported cases and crime rates per 100,000 population.

The high-risk districts for honour killings in Balochistan include Naseerabad and Sohbatpur, Quetta for rape, kidnapping and domestic violence and Swat, Upper Kohistan and Mansehra in KP for multiple GBV indicators. Underreporting was particularly acute in rural and tribal districts, where social stigma, lack of access to justice and weak institutional presence hindered survivors from coming forward.

Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director SSDO, said the absence of convictions despite hundreds of registered cases underscored critical weaknesses in law enforcement, prosecution and survivor protection mechanisms.

SSDO called for urgent action to address these gaps by establishing GBV-specific crisis centres, gender crime units and provincial data observatories.

He added that despite hundreds of registered GBV cases in 2024, convictions remained almost non-existent reflecting deep-rooted systemic failures where survivors are left without justice.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025