4,585 cases of violence against women reported
24 October, 2012
KARACHI: Four thousand five hundred and eighty five cases of violence against women (VAW) were reported across the country during January to June 2012, it is learnt here. Women in Punjab remained the major victims with 69% of all VAW incidents reported from that province. Three thousand one hundred and fifty three cases were reported from there during first six months of the current year, with Lahore, Okara and Sargodha being the worst hit areas. Shireen Khokar, Coordinator Aurat Foundation's VAW monitoring cell while sharing details of the report said although Punjab houses 56% of Pakistan's total population, yet it is implausible that nearly 69% of VAW incidents occur in province. "The reason for this unreliable discrepancy in VAW cases in Punjab and the rest of the country might simply be the access to information," she said. Women in Punjab are more likely to be able to reach law enforcement and the media than women in KP or Balochistan. "It would be safe to assume that even though 69% of the VAW cases are being reported from Punjab, it is not likely that the province is relatively this much worse in terms of VAW," said Khokar. Since the total numbers of VAW cases reported from Punjab are so high, the province has automatically featured at the top of all kinds of violence. End.
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