During the investigation of the Minar-e-Pakistan incident where a woman named Ayesha Akram was allegedly assaulted by hundreds of men on Independence Day, an audio recording between Ayesha and suspect Amir Sohail aka Rambo has surfaced in which the police has discovered some mysterious elements.
As per the details of the conversation, the police have reported to the news outlet that they both were planning to take money from the suspects who have been arrested in the case. The call revealed that they discussed with each other the number of total suspects and the amount that should be taken from them considering that they belong to an impoverished background. Rambo has confessed that Ayesha wanted to take Rs500,000 from each arrested suspect for which he has tried to convince her. But with a bitter rejoinder, she threatened to send him to jail if he refused.
As soon as the news hit the media, the victim received a public outrage with protests and demands to punish the culprits. Observers have noticed that those who were vehemently fighting in her cause have decided to back down given the misgivings about the incident. Some have also opined that the Minar-e-Pakistan incident was deftly planned by Ayesha Akram conniving with her friend in a bid to come under spotlight and gain empathy from the public.
Right activists have inferred that such kind of incidents usually weaken the authenticity and progress of other cases where women are sexually assaulted in a brutal manner. They claim that amid the victim blaming mindset and social stigma attached with reporting the case to the police, it has been so far difficult to bring justice to the victims. Such negative incidents only add insult to the injury as police, taking the matter lightly; do not investigate the matter with just intentions. Instead, they hold the victim accountable and responsible for the crime let alone bring justice to them.
Analysts maintain that whenever a case is reported or goes viral on social media, a group of people including the police indulge in forming opinions that readily make the victim culprit. After this incident surfaced, a handful of people who previously were blaming Ayesha for the assault, now gained veracity in their words, hence giving rise to the culture of victim-blaming and making it more difficult for the victimised women to come forward and speak up against the offence.
“Victim blaming and shaming do not only cause trauma to be retriggered or made more acute, they also prevent other victims from speaking up,” said Jasmyn Rana, a psychologist and psychotherapist based in Lahore.
Experts suggest that the cases linked with women are sensitive and it takes only one incident in a case to destroy the progress of other cases.
“The rape survivors’ families are no different from the rest of society; they discourage victims from registering or pursuing cases, in an attempt to sweep everything under the carpet. Society looks at the sufferer as if (getting raped) was her own fault”, says Mukhtara Mai about the cultural attitude regarding rape who is a survivor of gang-rape and now a women’s rights activist.
Experts suggest that the cases linked with women are sensitive and it takes only one incident in a case to destroy the progress of other cases. When an incident is found to be misquoted or misreported, the police and other authorities seem to lose their faith in rest of the victims and take their statements casually.
Observers maintain that in our country the police are not well-equipped with the technical and advanced knowledge based on rational approach and easily believe in whatever they hear from mainstream public. There is a lack of sensitisation to gender-based violence issues among the police and they show a disregard to women’s issues in general. The process of investigation is also quite unprofessional, inauthentic and unguided that eventually produces distorted results. On the other hand, the conviction rate is depressingly low while the suspects of the crimes usually get acquittal after having remand of one or two months. Experts claim that amid the faulty law and justice system, such cases diminish the chances of arresting the culprits and defending the victims.
Right activists have found that the negative developments pertaining to a certain case also affect the magnitude of reporting the case. When the police observe that women take pride in being reported in fake incidents, or involve themselves in false planning of the crime, the former will show reluctance in reporting the case and gain confidence in making them responsible for the occurrence of the crime. This contributes negatively in the proper reporting and investigation of the crimes especially of rape and sexual harassments.
According to a report by advocacy group Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) based in the country, cases of women’s violence are going under reported in the media. The low reporting of incidents makes women feel more vulnerable about their social security and protection. According to the SSDO, 6,754 women were kidnapped and 1,890 raped in the first six months of 2021 in the Punjab province alone but the reporting rate remained low. For instance, out of 3721 cases of gender-based violence, only 938 made it to media reports.
Observers have noticed that the cases of rape and sexual assault also go unnoticed as it is still considered a taboo topic in our society. “Unfortunately, rape and sexual assault is still a taboo subject in Pakistan,” Shehraz Ahmed,a program coordinator at the non-governmental organisation WAR, said. “Cases of rape are underreported and conviction is even lower, under 3%, across the country.”
