ARCCs in crisis

LAST month, two suspected rapists in Punjab suffered injuries of their own making while trying to escape the police. In Gujranwala, a man accused of raping two minor brothers was badly injured when his pistol accidentally went off inside his trousers. In Vehari, another suspect accused of raping a minor girl was injured in a similar manner when his gun went off as he attempted to flee arrest.

Only a few rapists suffer self-inflicted con­­sequences. That’s only a few. Last mon­th, a vi­­llage woman was drawn to Daska by the promise of a Ramazan ration package. Ins­t­e­­ad, she was lured to a nearby workshop by a man, where he and his accomplice held her at gunpoint and allegedly raped her. The suspects escaped, leaving the victim’s family to appeal to the Punjab chief minister for justice.

Disturbingly, neither incident seemed extraordinary in the news cycle. They are just additional entries in the growing tally of annual rape cases. Despite years of debate and legislation, the authorities have been unable to completely curb such a brutal assertion of power and violence, where reasoning is more obscure than for any other type of crime. In 2024, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 4,175 cases of rape and 733 of gang rape.

However, to call rape a forgotten crime would be misleading. The introduction of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 has yielded modest gains. Since its passage in November 2021, the conviction rate has risen from three to 10 per cent. While the increase is significant, the journey to ensuring justice in every rape case remains long, uncertain, and slow.

Even where anti-rape crisis cells are functional, there are concerns.

Among the structures introduced under the law — including specialised sexual offe­nces investigators, dedicated prosecutors, sp­­­ecial courts, and sex offenders register — are the Anti-Rape Crisis Cells (ARCCs). Co­­nc­eived as first-stop centres for survivors, these cells, associated with public hostipals, are meant to provide immediate medical, legal and psychological support to sexual violence survivors under one roof. They are mandated to ensure standardised evidence collection and improve coordination betwe­­en medical personnel, investigators and prosecutors.

Based on information shared by the special committee established under the Anti-Rape Act, 111 ARCCs were notified across the country till September 2025. But only 40 are operational. Punjab leads with 54 notified cells, 36 of which are functioning. Sin­dh has 26 notified but only two are operat­i­o­­nal, Islamabad Capital Territory has two and both are working, KP has 29 with 24 fu­­-nctioning, while Balochistan has notified 39 cells, none of which are working. In effect, only 36pc of the notified cells are operational.

Even where the crisis cells are functional, experts have raised concerns about their adherence to the law’s guidelines. In May 2025, a National Commission on the Status of Women team monitored an ARCC at the Pims hospital in Islamabad, and found it lacked mandated psychological and legal support, no doctor posted there had formal training in forensic medicine, and no female nurses were on duty. No separate washroom for survivors was available. Medico-legal records were maintained manually, and the lone desktop computer was unreliable due to recurring virus issues. Under the law’s established rules, these actions clearly constitute violations.

Medical experts say a shortage of trained medico-legal doctors creates a major reso­u­r­­ce gap for the ARCCs. Many medical stud­e­nts skip the 100-hour MBBS training and can pass the exam without attempting rel­a­ted questions. The field also attracts little in­­­terest as the pay is low and private practice opportunities are limited, for the work is mostly tied to public hospitals. Also they fear unne­cessary police investigatio­ns and repea­ted court proceedings.

The police themselves show reluctance to refer cases to the ARCCs. Of the registered 9,162 offences under Sch­edule II of the Pak­istan Penal Code, which includes heinous sexual violence such as rape, only 1,552 FIRs — just 17pc — were sent to the cells. Even when cases do reach the ARCCs, most are police referrals: of the 885 cases handled until Sep­tember 2025, only 110 — about 12pc — were walk-ins. These centres have yet to establish themselves as truly survivor-focused, one-stop facilities, pointing to low public awareness of the support service, even more so in Balochistan than in the other provinces.

The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act has raised expectations — but meeting them remains a challenge. Last month, noting gaps in the implementation of the law during the hearing of a bail petition of a rape suspect, the Lahore High Court summoned all notifications pertaining to the ARCCs from the federal government. One hopes this step accelerates the establishment of fully functioning centres, eases the burden of trauma on survivors of sexual violence and eliminates the tendency to doubt the complainant.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Lahore.

alefiath@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2026

if you want to get more information about this news then click on below link

More Detail