The first “advanced” center dedicated to protecting women from violence and promoting gender equality in Pakistan has opened in Multan, Punjab Province. The all woman-run center was authorized by the 2016 Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act. The center is designed to ensure justice for women victims of violence, including through the improved collection of evidence, as well as to provide shelter and other critical medical, psychological and legal services for women and girls fleeing violence. The provincial government plans to open three more violence against women centers, including one in provincial capital of Lahore.
Compiled from: Shaw, Nadeem, Pakistan’s first ‘Violence Against Women Center’ inaugurated in Multan, The International News (March 29, 2017).