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Hasan Mansoor
In most cases victims are forced to recant the original testimony
ARACHI:
Figures compiled by some nongovernmental organisations show cases of incest,
despite being severely under-reported, are on the rise. The number of
reported cases of incest during the last 12 months in the country was 39.
Researchers say the actual number is much more alarming and reported cases
are just the tip of the iceberg.
The trial and conviction ratio is ever poorer. Out of 39 cases, only 11 could be tried and in seven the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence. In all such cases, the victim and other witnesses either refused to testify under family pressure or recanted their earlier statements. Only four cases resulted in jail terms for the accused. The rate of conviction was thus just 9 percent.
In 36.6 percent of reported incest cases the accused were fathers, 6.8 percent were grandfathers, 10.8 percent stepfathers, 8.6 percent fathers-in-law, 15.2 percent paternal and maternal uncles, 6.8 percent brothers, 3.3 percent nephews and 11.9 percent other relations
A study carried out by Viqarunnisa Hashmi, a lawyer with expertise in such cases, says while it is impossible to assess the actual number of cases, research shows they are likely to be three or four times higher. The reason is simple: even more than rape, incest victim has to contend with immense psychological, emotional and sexual-social pressure. “Incest is considered taboo around the world but especially in traditional and conservative societies like Pakistan’s. Very few people are ready to come forward, accept it or speak about it,” says Hashmi.
Other experts and social workers agree with her formulation that getting the correct figures on incest is almost impossible. “It’s even more difficult than getting the statistics on rape, which poses its own problems, given social and other pressures,” says an NGC worker.
The victims’ statements to the police in reported cases, however, reveal that in 100 percent of the cases the accused forced himself on the victim and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the liaison to anyone. In nearly half of the cases, victims lodged the FIR (First Information Report) after they became pregnant or when the accused was caught red-handed. In the remaining cases, FIR was lodged by the victim’s mother, husband or other relatives.
According to Wharton’s Law Lexicon, incest in the West was initially a capital offence. Subsequently it was left to the spiritual courts to decide the penalty. In the UK, under Punishment of Incest Act 1908, within certain relationships, whether legitimate or illegitimate, it is now punishable by seven years’ imprisonment. In the US, it is a statutory offence.
Protection against incest has not been spelled out in any human rights documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on Elimination of all Kinds of Discrimination Against Women.
Hashmi’s study on incest says there is no specific law in Pakistan to deal with the issue. Almost all such cases are registered under Section 10 (3) of the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance 1979, dealing with Zina-bil- Jabr (rape) liable to tazir. The punishment under Section 10 (3) is imprisonment that may extend to 25 years with 30 lashes. The study says the Zina Ordinance does not handle incest specifically. Hashmi insists incest must be dealt with under specific laws.
Advocate Uzma Khalid of the Lahore High Court provides legal aid to victims of incest. She told TFT the victims have virtually no access to judicial protection and redress. Officials at all levels of the criminal justice system are unwilling to prosecute the matter in criminal courts and advise the victim to settle the matter within the family.
This makes the victim vulnerable vis-à-vis the abuser. Worse, in certain cases the abuser can actually enlist support of the police through bribes and continue abusing the victim with impunity. In many cases, where victims determined enough to try and register a complaint are simply not believed either by the family or the police. Some are even treated with disrespect and harassed by family members as well as police officers.
“They must contend with abusive police officers, disinterested doctors, incompetent prosecutors, sceptical judges, and a discriminatory and deficient legal framework,” says a social worker. A sessions judge of Karachi told TFT that in the last five years only one case of incest was brought to her court. “And the family was constantly pressurising the victim to make a compromise,” she says.
Two NGOs, Sahil and Rozan are providing counselling services to victims of incest. This reflects the high number of such cases. Giving countrywide figures collected by Sahil through media reports, the NGO’s Media and Publications Officer, Ms Fauzia, said that in 1997, 21 cases of incest were reported. In 1998, 23, in 1999, 21, in 2000, 43, in 2001, 31 and in 2002, 33 cases were reported.
In the 99 per cent of these cases, the victims were women.
Rozan’s Ayesha says that analysis of 100 letters the NGO received from the abused persons showed that 47 were victims of incest. NGOs observe that even when the children complain of incest to one of the parents, there is resistance in the families to own up to the crime. It is a common problem when victims are females.
Incest is prevalent in the society across the board, irrespective of the social standing of the family. Recently a ninth class student came with complaints of sexual abuse by her father, who is a senior government official.
Another lawyer says a case of incest was lodged in Punjab’s Sadiqabad district on December 4, 2000. “When we took up the case, the paternal uncle and step grandfather of the girl threatened the social workers with dire consequences and asked them not to interfere in the matter,” she says.
Highlighting the role of police and helplessness of the victims, she says the mother of the girl told her that police had allegedly taken Rs2.5 million from the abusers and shelved the investigations. Finally, the paternal uncle pressured the girl to give a compromise statement. On the basis of her statement the case was disposed of. A 27-year old victim of incest disclosed to TFT that she suffered years of sexual abuse from age 13 till 18 from a close family member.
The rising number of cases among children has prompted UNICEF to do a survey on child sexual abuse in Pakistan. It is also working with Pakistan’s social welfare department on the issue. Doctors have found that the majority of mothers accept incestuous liaison of their children with a male relative. “The patriarchal nature of many Pakistani families makes it hard for women to challenge husbands or in-laws,” one social worker says.
Printed with permission from www.thefridaytimes.com the leading light of Pakistani free press