In a report, done by the University College of Lahore, ‘Accountability for Rape: A case study of Lodhran’, the numbers show that rape cases in Punjab were staggeringly high in 2016-2017. The study is thorough and looks at court judgements to show how alleged rapists were acquitted. And a whole lot of them were set free.

Police submitted reports on more than 7,000 new rape cases during 2016-17, cases that had a verdict were more than 5,800. Out of the ones that were given a verdict, only 216 cases had a conviction.

The police did its job and submitted reports in more than 7,000 cases but only 216 were convicted.

The study revealed that major cities had more rape cases, as expected, but what was not expected was the amount of convictions in relation to the cities.

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Lahore tops the list with the most amount of cases and the least amount of convictions

Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur had the highest number of rape incidents and a very low conviction rate. But

The highest number of contest acquittals was in Lodhran, which means that when the case went to trial, an acquittal took place when the judge decided that the prosecution had not proved that the defendant was guilty.

These areas were highlighted because the cases going to court were fewer than larger cities

The report also showed the cities with the lowest amount of cases with Mianwali and Jhelum topping the list as ‘safer’ cities.

Cities with the lowest amount of rape cases reported

Interestingly the study also shows judgments that listed the ‘character’ of the women who were raped.

How many cases were individual or gang rapes, with individual rapes being the most common type of rape in Punjab.

79 percent were individual rapes and 16 percent were gang rapes

The marital status of the women was also documented and most of the women who were raped were married when the incident took place.

41 percent of the rape victims were married women

More than half of the incidents that took place involved a man who knew the victim.