Islamabad:A total of 3,172 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported across the country during the first six months of 2026, with Punjab accounting for nearly three-quarters of all cases, according to a report released by Sahil.
The report, based on incidents published in national and regional newspapers from all four provinces, ICT, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), documented 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries, 132 honour killings, and 21 other offences, including harassment, gang rape, and pornography-related crimes.
The report also recorded 18 cases involving transgender persons, highlighting that gender-based violence continues to affect vulnerable communities. According to the findings, the highest number of victims (334) belonged to the 21-30 years age group, followed by 306 victims aged 11-20 years, 120 victims aged 31-40 years, while in 71 per cent of the cases the victim's age was not reported.
The report found that 27 percent of the perpetrators were acquaintances of the victims, 24 per cent were strangers, and 13 per cent were husbands, while the identity of the alleged abuser remained unknown in 20 percent of the cases.
Homes remained the most unsafe place for victims, with 54 percent of the reported incidents occurring in the victim’s own home, while 12 per cent took place at the abuser's residence. Punjab reported the highest share of gender-based violence cases at 74 per cent, followed by Sindh with 17 per cent. The remaining 9 per cent of cases were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (6 per cent) and Balochistan, ICT, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (3 per cent collectively).
The report further noted that 76 per cent of the reported cases were registered with the police, 23 per cent did not mention the registration status, while only one per cent of the cases remained unregistered.
