Islamabad :- Ministry of Law & Justice has removed Section 354 from Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act, 2021 on the recommendation of Special Committee.
Section 354 of Pakistan Penal Code, earlier a scheduled offence under the Act, deals with assault with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman. This offence, traditionally tried by a magisterial court, and applied to all cases of assault where women are involved, often does not constitute a high threshold sexual violence crime and therefore removed from the scheduled offences of Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act, 2021. Section 354 constituted almost 31 percent cases in Special Courts constituted to deal with rape cases, diverting resources from investigating and prosecuting more serious sexual offences.
This policy tweak will help in improving the justice system in dealing with cases of rape and sexual violence
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
