Key Highlights
- Over 6,500 cases of violence against women reported in 11 months
- Punjab accounts for 78% of all documented incidents
- More than 1,400 women murdered and 585 raped in 2025
- Sahil warns real numbers may be far higher due to underreporting
ISLAMABAD (TRIBUNE) — December 2, 2025: Gender-based violence against women has surged sharply across Pakistan, with a 25% rise in reported cases in 2025, according to Sahil’s latest annual assessment. The findings draw on data extracted from 81 national newspapers covering all provinces, the Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, offering one of the country’s most comprehensive documentation efforts.
Between January and November 2025, a total of 6,543 incidents of violence against women were reported nationwide, compared with 5,253 in 2024. The data reflects a troubling and consistent escalation in cases of abuse, murder, harassment, and sexual violence, underscoring what experts warn is an intensifying national crisis.
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Sahil’s breakdown reveals several alarming trends. During the first eleven months of 2025, Pakistan witnessed 1,414 cases of murder, 1,144 abductions, 1,060 incidents of physical assault, 649 suicides, and 585 cases of rape. The organisation noted that a substantial proportion of rape cases involved perpetrators known to the survivors: 32% of the assailants were acquaintances, while 17% were strangers. Husbands were implicated in 12% of the total rape cases reported, whereas the identities of perpetrators were missing in 21% of these incidents.
The report further highlights that most acts of violence take place within domestic spaces. Sixty per cent of all incidents occurred in the victims’ own homes, while 13% were committed on the perpetrator’s premises. According to analysts, these patterns reflect a broader issue of unsafe domestic environments and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities that prevent women from seeking timely protection.
Regionally, Punjab remained the most affected province, accounting for 78% of all reported gender-based violence cases. Sindh followed with 14%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 6%, while Balochistan, Islamabad, AJK, and Gilgit-Baltistan collectively represented only 2% of cases. Sahil attributes Punjab’s high numbers partly to a more active reporting and documentation system, though it cautions that the prevalence of violence itself remains extremely high.
Law enforcement response also appeared uneven. Of all reported incidents, 77% were registered with the police, while 21% lacked clarity regarding registration status. Only two cases involved a refusal by police to lodge a complaint, but human rights advocates argue that this statistic does not reflect the full extent of barriers survivors face in approaching authorities.
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The findings come just a week after the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) issued its own fact sheet, highlighting more than 20,000 incidents of violence against women during the first six months of 2025 alone. The SSDO report raised concerns regarding low conviction rates, delays in investigations, and poor quality of evidence, noting that many survivors abandon cases due to procedural frustration or fear of retaliation.
Sahil’s report reinforces these concerns, warning that the actual scale of gender-based violence is likely much higher. Many incidents remain unreported due to cultural stigma, family pressure, lack of access to complaint centres, and fear for personal safety. The organisation stressed that without improving complaint mechanisms, legal aid, and survivor protection systems, Pakistan will continue to see rising violence.
Advocacy groups are once again urging provincial and federal authorities to strengthen legislation, accelerate investigation timelines, and expand survivor-support facilities such as crisis centres, safe houses, and counselling units. They argue that unless comprehensive institutional reforms are enacted, the surge in gender-based violence will continue to jeopardise women’s safety across the country.
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