Under the President’s decree, anti-rape cells provide medical tests within six hours of the complaint being made and create a national sexual offender register.
“The ordinance will help expedite cases of sexual abuse against women and children. Special courts will be set up across the country to expedite hearings and suspected rape cases as soon as possible,” President Arif Alvi said on Twitter.
He added, “The register of perpetrators of rape will be prepared at the national level. The ordinance prohibits the identification of rape victims and makes it a punishable offense.”
Pakistan is discussing tougher punishments for sexual offenses after a woman who was driving with her two children in September became publicly angry over high-profile cases, including rape of a woman on the side of a main road.
Two people were arrested in October and are being remanded.
Legislators had planned to publicly execute those convicted of child sexual abuse and murder, but the prime minister said in September that it could cost Pakistan’s preferential trade status with the European Union.
Instead, Imran Khan said he would propose chemical castration of people convicted in very brutal rape cases.
According to the Karachi-based group War Against Rape, less than% of cases of sexual assault or rape are committed in Pakistan.
The anti-rape ordinance will remain valid for four months pending parliamentary approval. The text of the decree is yet to be released but the justice minister had earlier said that the fine would include death penalty and chemical castration.
Women’s rights activists widely welcomed the law, but called for improved policing and legal action to ensure that victims of sexual violence receive justice.
“This is a welcome step,” said Salman Sufi, who praised the law for protecting women against violence in Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab. “But it’s a knee-jerk policy after the recent surge in reporting rape cases.”
He called on all female employees to start one-stop justice centers for rape survivors.
Fauzia Vikar, one of Pakistan’s leading experts on women’s rights, has called on the government to ensure a gender-sensitive investigation and prosecution.
“Despite a conviction rate as low as %%, you are not sending a strong message,” he said.
“The government needs to strengthen the response.”
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