THEORETICALLY, the high incidence of sexual violence against women can be brought down by ensuring that survivors are confident enough to report the crime and by raising prosecution success rates. In practice, various factors contribute to keep conviction rates in such cases low. In Karachi, for instance, while the reporting of such cases to the police rose by 17 per cent during the past year, the conviction rate was a mere three per cent. At a press conference on Friday, the director of the non-governmental organisation War Against Rape, Sarah Zaman, said that the police registered 80 cases of sexual violence in the city in 2010, as compared to 68 cases in 2009. Similarly, victims underwent medico-legal examinations in 266 cases last year, as opposed to 229 the previous year. However, over the two years only 30 per cent of the cases where medico-legal examinations had taken place managed to reach the courts. Most survivors either back out of court proceedings or choose out-of-court settlements. According to Ms Zaman, this is due to the societal approbation faced by the victims of sexual crimes, and the hostile attitude shown by the prosecution and the defence.

Certainly, the odds are stacked against survivors of sexual violence. In a society that tends to view women as objects, the survivors of such violence often face further humiliation at the hands of the justice system. There is a great need for initiating a sensitising campaign targeting police, medico-legal, prosecution and lower judicial officials. But while the societal attitude contributes to the low conviction rate, there are further dimensions too. While the law provides for the testimony of the victim being sufficient for conviction, in reality there is heavy reliance on corroborative evidence. Many prosecutions fail because of the prosecution's inability to provide this, and the police's limited ability to investigate. A sluggish judicial system makes matters worse since many victims tire of the delays and end up making out-of-court settlements. Survivors have hardly any options in terms of financial or advisory support. If Pakistan is to succeed in reducing the incidence of sexual violence, it needs to address all these issues in a cohesive, targeted manner.