A bench book on rape cases was launched in Islamabad on Tuesday to guide judges of gender-based violence (GBV) courts, with Supreme Court Justice Ayesha Malik using the occasion to challenge the victim-blaming assumptions that continue to shape attitudes towards survivors. The event was held in collaboration between the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR), the Legal Aid Society (LAS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Justice Malik Calls for a Re-examination of Attitudes
Delivering the keynote address, Justice Malik expressed concern that sexual violence had become so routine that it no longer provoked sufficient outrage. She rejected the notion that women ‘invite’ rape and called for a fundamental re-examination of the attitudes towards women that allow such assumptions to persist. Her remarks placed the burden of scrutiny on social and institutional beliefs rather than on those who experience violence.
What the Bench Book on Rape Cases Offers
According to a statement by the MoHR, the bench book is intended as a practical reference to support fair trials and judicial decisions grounded in law and evidence. It brings together applicable law and judicial guidance in 10 chapters that follow the sequence of a trial, and it is designed to help judges assess the evidence placed before them. LAS Director of Gender, Inclusion and Development Maliha Zia presented its structure and intended use during court proceedings.
Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, who chairs the Special Committee on the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, said the document takes what Parliament enacted, together with what the superior courts have held, and places it within reach of the judge who must apply it. LAS Chief Executive Officer Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid illustrated the survivor’s journey, highlighting the pressures survivors face and the need to assess delayed reporting, gaps in medical evidence and family power dynamics in their proper context.
A National Study on Low Conviction Rates in GBV Cases
The bench book was launched alongside a national study on low conviction rates in GBV cases, prepared by the ministry together with the Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights. Rabeea Hadi, director general of the MoHR’s Child Protection Institute, presented the findings. The study examined where cases falter, from the first report through investigation, medico-legal examination, prosecution and trial. The ministry said the two publications address connected challenges across the criminal justice process.
The concern is well documented. The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, enacted in December 2021, promised specialised courts, crisis centres and trained investigators, with verdicts expected within four months. Yet Ayesha Farooq told Dawn in January that the national conviction rate stood at just 5pc, with some categories as low as 0.5pc. The same report noted that 174 special courts have been notified under the law but that they do not handle GBV cases exclusively. It also recorded that rape convictions in Sindh rose to 17pc in 2025 from 5pc in 2020, before such courts existed, suggesting that specialised procedures can make a difference.
A more recent analysis based on data from 2021 to mid-2026 found that convictions remain low five years after the law came into force. Punjab accounted for 89.7pc of all registered rape cases in the country over that period.
The Scale of Gender-Based Violence
The scale of the problem was underlined by figures from Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers report for January to June 2026. The organisation documented 3,172 GBV cases across Pakistan in the first half of the year, including 18 involving transgender persons. These comprised 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries and 132 honour killings, in addition to 21 other crimes such as harassment, gang rape and pornography.
Bridging the Gap Between Law and Practice
Speakers at the launch returned repeatedly to the distance between legislation and implementation. MoHR Secretary Abdul Khalique Shaikh said the law on paper and the practice on the ground have not yet converged, and he urged attention to how legal protections are delivered in reality. UNFPA Pakistan Representative Dr Luay Shabaneh linked fair adjudication to Pakistan’s international human rights commitments, noting that a correctly reasoned judgment protects everybody in and outside the courtroom. Mary Kate Thomson, senior governance adviser at the British High Commission, observed that public trust is shaped by how everyday cases are handled and influences whether survivors come forward.
The event brought together judges, prosecutors, parliamentarians, senior government officials, legal practitioners and development partners, with a stated focus on translating legal protections into consistent practice. Whether the new bench book on rape cases can narrow that gap will depend on how widely it is adopted in courtrooms and whether the broader system, from police stations to hospitals and prosecutors, follows the same standards of evidence and fairness that it promotes.
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