The Govt. of Pakistan is committed to work towards the elimination of sexual violence in Pakistan. For this purpose, the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 is a promising step by the Federal Government. To process this further, the Ministry of Law and Justice constituted a Special Committee for the implementation of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021. It was hoped that this Special committee would go a long way to implementing Anti-Rape Act.
For speedy redressal of rape & sexual offences, the efforts of the Special Committee of Anti-Rape Act (Investigation & Trial) 2021 are unprecedented. The Special Committee always prioritized protecting women & children from rising sexual violence. In this regard, ensuring justice through Anti Rape measures, the approval of the following rules is the ground-breaking effort of the Committee:
- Anti-Rape Investigation Rules, 2022
- Anti-Rape Trial Procedure Rules, 2022
- Anti-Rape Crisis Cells Rules, 2022
The Ministry of Law and Justice, in 2023, prescribed the rules for the implementation purposes of this Act, for the usage of justice actors and for awareness of public at large.
Section 19 (1) of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 states that:
“The ministry of law and justice may prescribe rules, upon the recommendations of the special committee, for the purposes of carrying out the purposes of this Act.”
In March 2023, the Ministry of Law and Justice, with the support of The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UKaid, and Legal Aid Society (LAS) launched the Federal Sexual Violence Response Framework (FSVRF) which is a significant initiative in combating sexual violence in Pakistan. FSVRF is a collection of recommended action, endorsed by the Federal Government, to support the implementation of laws & judicial guidelines and recommendations for each department to effectively prosecute cases of sexual violence in Pakistan
Anti-Rape Investigation Rules, 2022
The following definitions are important to focus before explaining the important features of the Investigation Rules:
IO: Investigation Officer is an officer of a law enforcement agency empowered to investigate schedules offences.
SSOIU: The Special Sexual Offences Investigation Unit established under section 9 of the Act.
ARCC: Anti-Rape Crisis Cell in public hospitals with adequate medical facilities throughout the country in relation to offences mentioned in Schedule-Il.
MLE: Medico-Legal Examination.
The following are the salient features of the Investigation Rules 2023:
- The officer-in-charge shall be the head of the SSOIU.
- The duties of the officer-in-charge shall include to ensure: FIR is registered immediately, liaison among all relevant departments from the start till the end of the case, designating a female police officer, presence of female police officer during each process of the case such as medico-legal examination, the safety of the evidence, timely and correct collection of evidence, submission of blood and urine samples, recording of the statement of the survivor, and maintaining the chain of custody of evidence.
- If the officer-in-charge fails to conduct the proper investigation, strict measures shall be taken.
- During the registration of FIR by the rape victim, a lady police officer shall be present at the relevant ARCC.
- The statement shall be recorded in private or in the presence of a person of victim’s choice.
- The police officer shall only ask relevant questions in precise language.
- The IO shall seal the crime scene and collect all the potential evidence.
- After FIR, the IO shall escort the victim for MLE, in the presence of a family member or a person of victim’s choice. Also, the recorded statements must be read out to the victim before finalization.
- After evidence collection, the IO shall secure and document the samples, and then send to the nearest government forensic agency.
- The IO shall ensure the relevant evidence is collected immediately with the standardized SOPs. Due care must be exercised regarding the location of the crime, type of evidence, scene management deliberations that can cause contamination of the crime scene, weather conditions, and the need for specialized personnel for processing additional technical process.
- Evidence collected or sent for any purpose shall be inventoried and packaged prior to being released and leaving the crime scene.
- The IO and other persons involved in the process of collection, transmission, and examination of the evidence shall maintain a safe chain of custody for the evidence.
- Every document shall mention the details, namely: where evidence was received, name of IO, time and date of receiving, list of evidence, item number with description, condition, any unusual marking, and alteration noticed.
- For evidence receiving and transfer process, the date and time of transfer shall be specified.
These rules require all stakeholders to work in coordination to end sexual violence. The rules suggest actions for law enforcement, judiciary, health, & other relevant institutions to prevent & handle cases of sexual violence in Pakistan. Moreover, the objective of the Special Committee is to create awareness to the general public so that people must know what the legal procedures and ramifications are if such heinous incidents happen. The Chairperson of the Special Committee states, “The Anti-Rape Act Committee is working not only on rules, but whether the understanding and awareness of law is actually reaching the grassroots”.
The writer is a Senior Research Fellow at the School for Law and Development.
