Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF-Pakistan) in partnership with Group Development Pakistan (GDP) and Blue Veins joined hands to conduct a regional level consultation with the parliamentarians, government officials, civil society and political party representatives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to stop acid and burn violence by advocating and lobbying for the 'Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Comprehensive Acid and Burn Crime Bill 2019'.
The aim of conducting this consultation was to bring all stakeholders together and pave the way for the passage of this important bill into legislation which would result in enhancing the transparency and accountability of the elected representatives.
It is highly unfortunate that Pakistan has been characterized by a high prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in particular. Patriarchal and discriminatory attitudes along with deep-rooted stereotypes concerning women's roles and responsibilities that discriminate women and girls and perpetuate their subordination and victimization within the family and the society, persist at structural, institutional and socio-cultural levels in Pakistan. Cases of torture and burns inflicted on girls trafficked and enslaved as domestic laborers have been reported extensively by the media.
Moreover, laws and policies are still inadequate or even inexistent, the data is still insufficient and coordination among duty bearers is barely present; capacities of law enforcement agencies, medico-legal officers and support service providers are too weak. The stigma faced by VAWG survivors is very strong hence very few of them access justice and support mechanisms, which is why impunity still largely prevails: the average conviction rate for VAWG cases stands at 0.3 percent only.
As per ASF-Pakistan data, acid violence has decreased by 50% in the country during 2015 and 2016 and the conviction rate for acid attacks was the highest among VAWG cases in the last two years (10%). Convictions largely entail strong and severe punishment and the fight against acid violence has generated a strong mobilization among civil society networks, policy and law makers, government departments, LEAs, media and human rights institutions.
It is therefore important to capitalize upon the positive results achieved for acid violence so far and use this non-controversial, positive momentum from all stakeholders -including religious leaders- to pursue efforts to a) eradicate acid attacks and other forms of burns; b) prevent other forms of VAWG that happen prior to acid and burn violence; and c) advocate and lobby for passage of legislation to counter acid and burn violence.
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