• Murders, torture and abductions emerge as the most reported crimes
• Punjab accounts for 74pc of cases, followed by Sindh with 17pc

ISLAMABAD: A total of 3,172 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported across Pakistan during the first half of 2026, including 18 cases involving transgender persons, according to Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers Report (January-June 2026).

The report, available with Dawn, documented 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries, 132 honour killings, and 21 other crimes, including harassment, gang rape and pornography.

According to the report, 334 victims were aged between 21 and 30 years, while 306 victims were in the 11-20 age group and 120 were aged between 31 and 40 years. The ages of victims were not mentioned in 71 per cent of the cases.

Sahil has been working since 2024 to combat gender-based violence and promote safer, fairer and more just communities. The six-month report is based on information collected from national and regional newspapers across all four provinces, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

According to the report, 27 per cent of the perpetrators were acquaintances of the victims, 24pc were strangers, and 13pc were husbands, while the perpetrators were not identified in 20pc of the cases.

It found that 54pc of the incidents occurred in the victims’ own homes, while 12pc took place at the perpetrator’s residence, making these the two most common locations for gender-based violence.

“Seventy-four per cent of the total cases were reported from Punjab and 17pc from Sindh. The remaining cases were reported from other regions, including 6pc from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3pc from Balochistan, ICT, AJK and GB combined,” the report stated.

It said that 76pc of all reported cases were registered with the police, while the registration status was not mentioned in 23pc of the cases, and 1pc remained unregistered.

Most vulnerable districts

Among Pakistan’s 104 districts, 10 were identified as the most vulnerable to gender-based violence. These include Fais­alabad, Multan, Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Vehari and Sialkot.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2026