LAHORE: The government-run Violence against Women Centre (VAWC) Multan has recorded 1,545 cases of violence against women (VAW) from March 2017 to April 2018.

According to the data provided by the Social Welfare Department, the highest number of registered cases is of domestic abuse (918 cases), followed by 165 family cases, 99 harassment cases and 89 property disputes.

Salman Sufi, heading the CM’s Strategic Reforms Unit (SRU) – the authority in charge of the project – says the centre has started functioning completely and that the locals have now begun taking it seriously.

The VAWC was set up following the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016, the law that was heavily countered by hard liners. The figures point out that the pandemic of gender-based violence is highest in Punjab with most reported cases.

The first VAWC was established in south Punjab because of the high number of gender-based crimes there. It is meant to be a 24/7 facility run completely by women to streamline investigation-prosecution case flow process by bringing all disconnected justice delivery services under one roof. The services provided at the VAWC include those by police, prosecution, medical, rehabilitation and counseling. There is also a shelter for women survivors of violence who have no home to go to.

The Punjab Women Protection Authority Act (PWPA) was passed in 2017 to ensure that centres like the VAWC are established across Punjab; however, their headquarters will remain in Multan.

“The government has really given its all for setting up such a centre to prove that it gives a safe and easy access to women who want to report crimes against them,” says Sufi. “We hope the success of this place will push the other provinces too.”

The Punjab Women Protection Authority (PWPA) moved a request for appointment of judges to exclusively deal with the cases registered with the VAWC.

Pursuant to orders by the Lahore High Court (LHC), two judges have now been notified by the District and Sessions Judge, Multan. Justice Tasmia Akhtar will be the Trial Court judge and Justice Saeed Ahmed Mukhtar Khan will serve as the Appellate Court exclusively for the cases registered at VAWC.

Meanwhile, Aurat Foundation’s regional director Mumtaz Mughal lauded the centre for being a useful initiative. However, she expressed reservations about the way the VAW was being dealt with by the government.

“The intentions are in the right place, but the problem lies in a follow-up system,” she says. “There should be a system where monitoring is done of women who go back outside and live their lives. Are they potential victims of violence? Or are they safe now? And this cannot be ascertained until the local government system in that area is strengthened.”

Ms Mumtaz explains the local government could serve as a way of raising awareness and having a complaint and monitoring mechanism, especially with lady councilors.

“Women face a lot of difficulties in reporting crimes and they need this kind of place where everything is under one roof – especially a sensitised staff,” she says.

The problem of lack of follow up is also voiced by Shazia Sarwar, AIG of Punjab Gender Crimes wing. “As someone who works on women-related cases, I know that women need such places badly, especially women who come from rural areas who do not have safe access to a police station,” she says.

“Women face the most violence from home, first from their husbands and then from their brothers, especially if the case is related to property.” Sarwar adds that only a few cases under Section 509 have been reported because women do not feel safe going to a local police station.

“While the bigger cases are monitored, it is the smaller cases – like harassment – that may be a cause for concern where lack of monitoring is concerned.”

Meanwhile, DSP Shahida Nasreen says the 1,545 cases filed were those directly filed with the VAWC. There may have been even more cases (300 more approximately) which the other offices such as the CPO or IG referred to the VAWC. “In a year, 1,800 cases have been accepted by the centre,” she claims.

Will this kind of system have any solid effects in the long term?

Deputy Superintendent of Police Nasreen says it will, because when people see the police coming to nab a suspect or an accused, the others would think twice before committing any such crime.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2018