Domestic Violence Unabated
Despite the anguish of thousands of women calling for measures to be taken to stem the tide of domestic violence against women which continues to stalk throughout the country, little has been done to date to achieve success. The Database Centre of Madadgaar Helpline for Children and Women (a project of Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid – LHRLA) has reported that 4,548 women were subjected to violence since January 2000 to August 2007 across Pakistan. And this is but the tip of the iceberg as the majority of people do not report cases of domestic violence because of social stigmas and police officers’ discriminatory attitude against women. It can only be assumed therefore that the actual number of cases of women being victimized by their families is no doubt some ten times greater than the reported ones.
The types of violence against women include physical torture, murders, sexual abuse and harassment, burning to death, strangulations, throat slitting, acid burns and psychological violence. The major causes behind severe violence were usually property and inheritance matters, forced marriages, husband’s misunderstandings and suspicions and poverty.
The total number of cases would appear to indicate an increase in the trend of domestic violence, suggesting either a lack of awareness and non—cooperation on the part of the police, as well as the apparent failure of the government to control the situation.
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