LAHORE: There is a need to work together to prevent violence against women and children.

This was stated by participants in a seminar organised by the Punjab University Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing awareness campaign regarding violence against women and children.

Punjab government spokesperson Musarrat Jamshed Cheema said laws should be strictly enforced to end violence against women and children. She said women, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, were subjected to sexual harassment and violence in any society.

She said the girls were very talented and steps should be taken to strengthen them to bring political and economic stability in the country.

She said the problems of sexual harassment and violence were also faced in developed countries, but there was a rule of law.

Punjab Women Protection Committee Chairperson Rafia Kamal said awareness should be continued through seminars and workshops in educational institutions to prevent violence against women and children. She said with the cooperation of police and health department, incidents of violence against women and children would be reduced.

She said men and women together form a civilized society. She said the mindset of oppressing women in the name of entertainment had to be changed.

Giving a briefing on the research report regarding the subject, SSDO Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas said some 3,088 rape cases of women had been reported in Punjab, while 446 women had been raped in Lahore alone in the last 10 months.

He said 4,503 incidents of child abuse had been reported, of which Lahore was on the top with 1,221 incidents.

He said such a large number of cases had raised an alarm of danger and an awareness should be created among the students through curriculum in order to prevent such incidents.

He said the representation of women in the police should be increased to prevent domestic violence.

ISCS Director Dr Rubeena Zakar said the incidents of violence against women and children were increasing day by day for which more steps should be taken.

She said women were subjected to physical, mental, economic and political violence due to various reasons and it was not only a social problem but also a public health problem.

She said everyone had to play a role to reduce the trend of cousin marriage and child marriage and advised students to inform the people around them of what they learn.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2022