Punjab Institute of Cardiology staffer rapes woman attendant in Lahore

An employee at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore allegedly raped a woman attendant by promising her father’s early heart treatment, police said on Monday.

The local police arrested the suspect and registered a case against him. The investigating officials confirmed that the alleged perpetrator is a staff member of the health facility.

As per the details of the incident, the accused lured the woman to the second floor of the hospital building, where he committed the assault.

The woman had been at the hospital for a month and a half for her father's bypass surgery.

The accused committed sexual assault by influencing her under the pretense of securing an immediate bypass surgey for her father.

Police have stated that further legal action will be taken following the woman's medical examination.

A Pakistani NGO, War Against Rape (WAR), highlighted in its 2020-2021 report that over 22,000 rape cases were filed with police across Pakistan in the past six years.

However, the vast majority of these cases have not been resolved. Only 18% have reached the prosecution stage.

A mere 77 out of the total reported cases resulted in convictions, which is just 0.3%. This means that an overwhelming number of perpetrators are not being held accountable.

The NGO, pointed out that the reported rape cases are much lower than actual incidents.

The difficulties within the legal system discourage many victims from reporting rape, resulting in only an estimated 41% of cases reaching the police.