ISLAMABAD: An alarming number of over 15,000 cases of violence and harassment against women have occurred in Punjab in the first half of 2025, and an average of 85 women face violence every day.

These figures have been released by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) in its bi-annual Violence Against Women Punjab 2025 factsheet.

The data reveals alarming trends of gender-based violence across the province during the first six months of the year.

According to the report, over 15,000 cases of violence against women were reported from January to June 2025, equivalent to 85 women facing violence every single day.

Compiled using data obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) from the Punjab police, the factsheet documents six major categories of violence, rape, kidnapping, domestic violence, honour killing, trafficking, and cyber harassment, along with detailed information on the status of cases under investigation, challaned, under trial, convicted, acquitted, or withdrawn.

The findings depict a grim picture of women’s safety in Punjab. On average, nine women were raped every day, 51 were kidnapped, and 24 endured domestic violence during the first half of the year.

The SSDO notes that these numbers reflect not only the scale of the crisis but also the systemic gaps that hinder justice, deterrence and survivor protection.

The SSDO also stated that the reporting of the cases related to violence against women has improved. Lahore emerged as the highest-burden district, ranking first in reported cases of rape (340), kidnapping (3,018), and domestic violence (2,115).

The provincial capital also recorded one of the highest numbers of honour killing incidents. Other districts with consistently high incidence rates include Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Kasur, Toba Tek Singh and Nankana Sahib.

For cyber harassment, only five districts, Okara, Sheikhupura, Layyah, Pakpattan and Gujrat reported cases, which SSDO attributes to significant underreporting and unequal access to digital complaint mechanisms. In cases related to trafficking, Muzaffargarh and Pakpattan recorded the highest figures.

Additionally, several districts, including Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Chiniot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Hafizabad, Narowal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha, failed to provide the required data despite clear directives from the Punjab Information Commission. These are records that law enforcement agencies are legally obligated to publish on their official websites under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

According to SSDO, Punjab police did not submit the data for these districts despite repeated instructions from the Information Commission, raising serious concerns about the transparency and accuracy of provincial records on violence against women.

The reporting of cases is a good sign of performance, which needs to be highlighted, but still, there is a lot of missing data that the police is not open to sharing, which creates disinformation among the people and also raises assumptions of low performance in terms of reporting. The data should be proactively disclosed.

The SSDO has called for urgent, coordinated action to address the alarming trends.

The organisation emphasised the need to strengthen reporting and referral systems, build the investigative capacity of police, ensure timely judicial proceedings, and expand survivor support, including shelters, legal aid, and psycho-social services.

The report stresses that only through transparent data, responsive governance, and community-driven awareness efforts can Punjab effectively combat gender-based violence and uphold the safety and dignity of women across the province.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2025