Helplines To Address GBV Need Strengthening In Pakistan

News Desk

Islamabad: “Gender-based violence (GBV) is often underreported and unrecognised. Helplines working to respond to GBV across Pakistan must work together to provide services to survivors through strong collaboration among emergency and GBV helplines,” said National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar.

The NCSW is working on a national action plan for GBV issues so these helplines can work together under standard indicators and data tools, Bakhtiar added.

She was speaking the inaugural session of a two-day conference titled “Building Collaboration between Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Helplines for Women and Girls” at PC Bhurban.

The objective of the conference was to strengthen the existing helplines established in response to gender-based violence throughout the country and address their challenges. During the two-day event, the participants shared their experiences and efforts made to find solutions to challenges faced by GBV helplines. The conference participants also emphasized the need for National Framework on GBV.

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Human Rights in collaboration with the NCSW, UNFPA, and Rozan.

Speakers said a helpline is a tool for survivors of violence to report and seek help safely and confidentially.

In Pakistan, various emergency and gender-based violence (GBV) helplines are operating at the federal and provincial levels. Staff at the helplines is, in most cases, first responders to guide and link the survivors with the right services, such as psychological first aid to help heal trauma, health facilities, legal assistance, shelters, and law enforcement agencies.

Building synergies between these helplines and apps is key to coordinating better referrals and improving service quality for women and girls who face violence, the speakers added.

The use of technology for GBV response is a new area that requires trained staff, safe documentation, data protection, and mentoring support. For this, collaborations among government departments and development partners, as well as sustainable funding, are the need of the hour, said Ministry of Human Rights Director Mohammad Arif.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Ministry to protect and uphold the human rights of everyone, especially women and girls facing any form of violence.

“Use of technology for GBV response is a new area which requires trained staff, safe documentation, data protection, and mentoring support”, HR Arif said, adding that for this, collaborations among government departments and development partners, as well as sustainable funding, are the need of the hour.

The participants emphasised the need for the National Framework on Gender-Based Violence to give guidelines and set minimum standards for gender-based violence response and referral services (police, health, shelter, and helplines). In addition to this, they suggested that specialised training for the social welfare workforce responding to GBV cases be reinforced.

A set of recommendations drawn from the conference would be shared with the concerned government departments. The conference also made recommendations regarding response and referral services (police, health, shelter, and helplines).

In addition to this, it was emphasized that specialized training for the social welfare workforce responding to GBV cases is reinforced.

Photo credit: NCSW