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INTRODUCTION “Any intercourse or penetration (vaginal, anal, or oral) obtained by force, threat of force by anyone, or when the wife is unable to consent is said to be raped.” The problem of rape is not some religion or continent specific but a global phenomenon with 25 % of the total rapes falling into this category. Many experts and scholars believe it as the worst form of domestic violence since the victim in this case, unlike the conventional one, still has to live with the aggressor which consequently leaves behind devastating effects upon the physical, mental and psychological health of her. Currently, US and many other European and Asian countries have legislation on the issue whereas the pressure has started to mount on other countries of the world to do the same. The subject of rape and sexual abuse is one that is very often not taken seriously. When it is discussed in public it is often treated in a pitiful or trivial manner. This prevents people from knowing the reality of sexual abuse, how prevalent it is and what the effects of it are. Very often this situation brings out a mixture of emotions, for example embarrassment, confusion, fear and anger. RAPE IN PAKISTAN On June 22, 2002 one woman's honor was redeemed, by the gage rape of another woman in Meeranwala, Jatoi (Punjab). Because her 11 years old brother was allegedly caught in a compromising position with an elder woman. He was beaten up and thereafter a so-called panchayat of some eighty stout citizens, most of them armed, met to decide on further punishment. The boy's father was asked to produce one of his daughters. He brought forward a daughter, a divorced woman in her thirties. As is the honorable custom in this country, honor plays a large and important part when it comes to meting out punishment. She was raped by eight persons. Another such incident, Lal Bakhsh of Khairpur raped his 16 years old daughter in a banana orchard, on the way going to a medical assistant. The police lodged an FIR against him. The girl was taken to Ranipur Hospital for medical check-up. Zainab Noor, a young rural woman, was brutalized by her husband in a manner that shocked people across Pakistan and the world. Since he was an imam in a mosque, the crime acquired a particularly sharp dimension. Doctors treating Zainab Noor said her husband subjected her to vaginal electrocution, a new term in the lexicon of criminology. What did she do to be thus punished? It turned out that she wanted to escape a life of endless physical abuse, so her husband tied her to a bed and shoved a metal wire with 220 voltages in her. Miraculously, she survived. This happens everyday, all over the country, in remote villages and towns inhabited by illiterate, brutalized barbarians. The large number of cases goes unreported because any suggestion of sex is considered forbidden in Pakistan. In most cases, alleged rapists can grease police palms and walk away free men. In Pakistan women do not enjoy equal rights and opportunities in all walks of life. More distressing is the common perception that women are the property of their men, as well as the guardian of the family honor. PAKISTAN RAPE STATISTICS According to the HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) report, one woman is raped every six hours and another is gang-raped every fourth day, half of all rape victims are juveniles, and 72 percent of all women in police custody are physically and sexually abused. Most of those women are in prison on charges of violating the zina laws. The number of registered rape cases last year stood at 572 - a number that includes 28 violent deaths. In Pakistan, social taboos and outmoded concepts of shame prevent victims from stepping forward to demand justice. So these figures are only the tip of the iceberg. In 1999, 1,458 women were the victims of a rape or sexual assault. (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) SILENT VICTIMS: One of the most startling aspects of sex crimes is how many go unreported. The most common reasons given for not reporting these crimes are the · Family honor · Fear of reprisal from the assailant · Private or personal matters · Public threat In Punjab, 364 cases of rape were reported last year, 157 of them involving minors. Punjab police only managed to register 321 cases and arrest 33 alleged rapists. In Sindh 210 cases of rape were reported, 86 of them involving minors and 106 of them classified as gang rape. Approximately 34% victims are raped by relatives, 47% by acquaintance, 5% by other husbands or boyfriends and rest by strangers. (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) An overwhelming majority of rape service agencies believe that public education about rape, and expanded counseling and support services for rape victims, would be effective in increasing the willingness of victims to report rapes to the police. Two of every three rapes take place in a fields or rural areas. Victims reported that 14% of the offender was a stranger. 78% of rapes occur in the noon or after sunset. At least 45% of rapists were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 29% of rapes, the offender used a weapon. In 47% of rapes, the victim sustained injuries other than rape injuries. 75% of female rape victims require medical care after the attack. NOT JUST A FAMILY MATTER: Family violence and abuse are among the most prevalent forms of interpersonal violence against women and young children -- both boys and girls. The sexual abuse of a child should never be "just a family matter," but many children are afraid to report an incident to the police because the abusers are too often a family friend or relative.
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