Punjab will set up “Violence Against Women Centres”

Lahore: In recognizing that violence against women is rampant in Punjab and that conviction for such crimes is abysmally low, Special Monitoring Unit (Law and Order) on directive of the Punjab Chief Minister designed, and is establishing, Violence Against Women Centre (VAWC) across Punjab. Pakistan will be the first country in the region to launch such an initiative.

In a statement of a spokesman of Special Monitoring Unit (SMU) of CM Office told that Violence Against Women Centres (VAWCs) will be the first line of defense for victims and will ensure access to justice by converging all relevant services under one roof including first aid, police reporting, FIR lodging, medical examination, collection of forensic and other evidence, psychologist evaluation, prosecution as well as post-trauma rehabilitation under one roof. VAWCs are integrated with shelter home and will assist in victim’s placement back into the society. Pilot Violence Against Women Centre is being established in Multan district.

The spokesman said that salient features of VAWC encapsulates is as follows, VAWC-  Violence Against Women Centers will be first line of defense for victims, and will provide immediate relief and protection to them with zero interference from outside (no incoming calls), VAWC will be 24 hour, all-women run facilities where all disconnected departments will be brought under one roof – first aid, police reporting, FIR lodging, prosecution, medical examination, forensics and post-trauma rehabilitation, case flow process will be streamlined with real-time data integration between all the relevant departments- a specifically designed real time, key stoke monitoring software will connect all the justice delivery departments, evidence will be collected within 24 hours of the assault and thus, prosecution will be strengthened, post-trauma rehabilitation, with the help of a VAW-specific trained psychologist, will also take place at VAWC. Affiliations with various organizations will be made to assist victims’ placement back into the society.  Victims will be placed in Shelter homes post-investigation, audio-visual recording of all actions, helpline and transport to facilitate victims.

VAWC will act as a mediation center for non-cognizable offenses, collaboration with PITB on facilitation centre at VAWC to assist women on any government-related query, most integral part of VAWC will be victim-friendly architecture and quality human resource- special training given to VAWC human resource to be VAW sensitized, VAWC specific SOP’s have been developed for day to day operations in VAWC and shelter homes, VAWC will self-initiate cases of state-inflicted violence against women, the spokesman added. Pakistan will be the first country in the region to launch such an initiative. The groundbreaking ceremony of pilot VAWCin Multan on Tuesday, 15^thSeptember, at Social Welfare Complex, Matti Tal Road, Multan, it concluded.