SHRC calls for national strategy against gender-based violence

Expressing deep concerns over the series of reports about female victims of domestic violence and murder in major cities of Pakistan, the Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Monday said that it is quite alarming that within a span of a few days, four brutal murders have been reported in the country.

“It clearly indicates the need for updating the legislative apparatus dealing with domestic violence and a great deal of social intervention by the government and non-government agencies in order to deter domestic violence, which consequently leads to such gruesome murders,” the commission said in a statement.

In view of the alarming rise in the cases of domestic violence in major cities of the country, the commission called for a holistic intervention from government departments and civil society stakeholders to strategise legislative and social intervention in order to combat such incidents from reoccurring.

Furthermore, the police, the national and provincial commissions on the status of women, and the women development and social welfare departments must stay vigilant about such incidents and reach out to the survivors over whistle blowing, said the statement.

Condemning such brutal acts of violence against women, the SHRC called for declaring a national emergency to deter the consistent reoccurrence of cases of domestic violence and gruesome murders of women.

The commission stressed on convening an urgent meeting of all the stakeholders at national level so that a single national strategy can be adopted to combat the rising phenomenon of gender-based violence.