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Pakistan rape law comes into effect amid outcry over victim blaming
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Pakistan rape law comes into effect amid outcry over victim blaming
Activists hail new law that will speed up rape trials, protect the identity of victims and create a sex offenders register
Staff and agencies
Wed 16 Dec 2020 01.00 GMT
Pakistan’s president has approved a much-awaited new law requiring the establishment of special courts to speedily conclude trials of people charged with raping women or children, a move hailed by rights activists.
The law, which must be approved by parliament to remain in effect, requires courts to conclude the trials of alleged rapists and issue verdicts within four months. It also prohibits the disclosure of the identity of rape victims and will create a national sex offenders register.
The move follows outrage over the gang rape of a woman in front of her children in September after her car broke down.
Before the new law, rape cases could drag on for years, mainly because of faulty investigations and flawed laws, making it difficult for victims to come forward to share their ordeal.
-snip-
Khan recently also hinted at public executions or surgical castration of convicted rapists after two assailants gang raped a woman in front of her children on a deserted highway near the eastern city of Lahore in September. The attack shocked Pakistan, with anger further fuelled by police, who appeared to blame the victim for travelling alone.
-snip-
Activists hail new law that will speed up rape trials, protect the identity of victims and create a sex offenders register
Staff and agencies
Wed 16 Dec 2020 01.00 GMT
Pakistan’s president has approved a much-awaited new law requiring the establishment of special courts to speedily conclude trials of people charged with raping women or children, a move hailed by rights activists.
The law, which must be approved by parliament to remain in effect, requires courts to conclude the trials of alleged rapists and issue verdicts within four months. It also prohibits the disclosure of the identity of rape victims and will create a national sex offenders register.
The move follows outrage over the gang rape of a woman in front of her children in September after her car broke down.
Before the new law, rape cases could drag on for years, mainly because of faulty investigations and flawed laws, making it difficult for victims to come forward to share their ordeal.
-snip-
Khan recently also hinted at public executions or surgical castration of convicted rapists after two assailants gang raped a woman in front of her children on a deserted highway near the eastern city of Lahore in September. The attack shocked Pakistan, with anger further fuelled by police, who appeared to blame the victim for travelling alone.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/pakistan-law-comes-into-effect-amid-outcry-over-victim-blaming-by-police
