The Organization for Sustainable Social Development (SSDO) has published its latest report, “Mapping Sexony Violence (GBV) in Pakistan 2024”, “providing a provincial analysis of rape, honor murders, abduction / abduction and domestic violence through Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Islambad Territory (ICT).
The report highlights the alarming scale of GBV cases and extremely low conviction rates, emphasizing the need for urgent reforms in the application of laws and the judicial system.
According to the report, a total of 32,617 cases of GBV were reported nationally in 2024. These include 5,339 rape incidents, 24,439 abduction incidents, 2,238 incidents of domestic violence and 547 cases of honor.
Despite these figures, the conviction rates remain extremely low in all the provinces. The rate of national conviction for rape represents only 0.5%, while the killings of honor also see only sentences at 0.5%. The abduction and removal cases have an even lower sentence rate of 0.1%, while cases of domestic violence lead to only 1.3% of the time.
Punjab has recorded the greatest number of GBV cases, with a total of 26,753. The province reported 225 cases of honor murder, but only two convictions. In the event of rape, Punjab had 4,641 incidents reported, but the conviction rate was only 0.4%. The abduction and removal cases were alarming at 20,720, with only 16 convictions. Cases of domestic violence totaled 1,167, with only three convictions.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 3,397 cases of GBV were recorded. The honor killings represented 134 cases, with two convictions. The province reported 258 cases of rape, with a single conviction. The abduction and removal cases amounted to 943, with a single conviction. Cases of domestic violence in KP totaled 446, but no conviction has been recorded.
Sindh recorded 1,781 cases of GBV. The murders of honor represented 134 cases, but none led to convictions. The province recorded 243 cases of rape, once again without conviction. Sulpron and removal cases were reported to 2,645, but no conviction was made. Domestic violence affairs were 375, without justice in terms of convictions.
Balutchistan had a total of 398 cases of GBV. The province recorded 32 cases of honor killings, with a single conviction. Rape cases were reported at 21, with zero convictions. The abduction and removal cases were from 185, but no conviction was recorded. Cases of domestic violence were reported to 160, with 25 convictions, the highest among all the provinces of this category.
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) reported 220 cases of GBV. The honor killings represented 22 cases, without conviction. The capital recorded 176 cases of rape, with only seven convictions. Data on abduction and removal cases have not been provided by the Ministry of the accusation. Cases of domestic violence were 22 years, without registered conviction.
Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director of SSDO, said that the report, on the basis of the provincial police services to the right of access to information laws (RTI), provides an analysis of GBV cases reported in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in 2024.
He underlined the urgent need for significant reforms to protect survivors and ensure that the authors are held responsible. Stressing that each survivor deserves justice, he called for the improvement of police investigations, legal procedures and the effectiveness of the trial to avoid long delays that hinder justice.
He urged government institutions, civil society and legal organizations to work together to create a system where survivors feel safe, supported and authorized to seek justice.
Shahid Jatoi, SSDO program director, stressed that the report’s conclusions reveal problems deeply rooted in the Pakistan criminal justice system. The abcheryly low conviction rates, such as 0.5% for the massacres of rape and honor at the national level, reflect low surveys, the collection of inadequate evidence, societal stigmatization and lack of judicial responsibility.
He stressed that the justice system is not for the scale of sexist violence, leaving vulnerable survivors and largely unpunished authors.
Limited access to legal aid, prolonged trial durations and cultural pressures that discourage reports or the continuation of cases still exacerbate the crisis. Urgent and complete reforms are necessary to align the Pakistan criminal justice system with the severity of these offenses.