GBV report sheds light on underreporting, institutional gaps

Islamabad: The Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) has released its latest report titled: ‘District Analysis of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 2024,’ shedding light on widespread underreporting, significant institutional gaps and negligible conviction rates across high-risk districts in two of Pakistan’s most underserved provinces.

Building on its earlier provincial-level GBV analysis, SSDO’s new district-wise report focuses on four key indicators of gender-based violence -- rape, kidnapping and abduction, honour killings and domestic violence.

The data was compiled through Right to Information (RTI) requests under Article 19-A of Pakistan’s Constitution and the relevant provincial transparency laws.

According to the report, Balochistan recorded 21 cases of rape, 185 of kidnapping or abduction, 32 honour killings and 160 incidents of domestic violence in 2024. Notably, the province saw zero convictions across all four categories.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), meanwhile, reported 258 rapes, 943 kidnappings or abductions, 134 honour killings, and 446 domestic violence cases with only one conviction registered during the year.

Thematic maps included in the report highlight several high-risk districts -- Naseerabad and Sohbat Pur in Balochistan for honour killings and Quetta for rape, kidnapping and domestic violence.

In KP’s Swat, Upper Kohistan and Mansehra emerged as hotspots across multiple GBV categories.

The findings also emphasise the acute underreporting of such crimes in rural and tribal regions, where survivors often face social stigma, inadequate legal support and minimal institutional outreach.

This structural inaccessibility, the report argued, discourages victims from seeking justice and contributes to an environment of impunity.

Commenting on the findings, SSDO Executive Director Syed Kausar Abbas stated: “The absence of convictions despite hundreds of registered Gender-Based Violence cases reflects critical shortcomings in law enforcement, prosecutorial follow-through, and survivor protection. It is a systemic failure where survivors are effectively abandoned by the justice system.”

He urged the provincial governments and relevant authorities to act swiftly by establishing GBV-specific crisis centres, gender crime units within police departments and dedicated provincial data observatories.

The ED added that this district-wise analysis offers a clear, evidence-based roadmap for targeted policy interventions.