Domestic Violence Laws in Pakistan: Challenges in Enforcement and Victim Protection

Abstract

Domestic violence within Pakistan continues not because there is no law at all, but because protection is patchy, enforcement is patchy, and institutional responses often devolve into delay, disbelief, or pressure to "settle" within the family. This paper discusses the discrepancy between the formal legal protections and the lived experience of domestic-violence survivors. 3 Interlocking layers of the issue are discussed: (i) the social and historical conditions of the occurrence of domestic abuse and state responses, (ii) the current legal regime - constitutional guarantees, criminal law remedies and special provincial legislation - and (iii) (where the enforcement regime and victim protection fail to operate in line with legal intent). Drawing on human rights reporting and work on gender-based violence, the paper advocates that the domestic violence response in Pakistan remains structurally handicapped by underreporting, procedures, police unwillingness, informal mechanisms of dispute resolution (including the rationales linked to honor by jirgas), and shelter and legal aid capacity. The analysis points to the development of Sindh Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013 as a relatively developed statutory model - especially the processes of protection/residence and institutional roles - and examines some of the federal level attempts, such as the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2021, which is stalled and provides a snapshot of the political and normative contestation. A brief hypothetical case study (clearly marked as such) demonstrates how procedural law - particularly FIR registration - could serve as a gatekeeping mechanism, not a point of entry to justice. The paper concludes with reforms based on constitutional rights (Articles 9 and 25) of Pakistan, international obligations of Pakistan and practical administrative interventions - survivor-centered policing, functional protection orders systems, accountability measures and sustained investments in shelters and legal aids.