Your introduction, who are you and what do you do?

Well, my name is Omer Aftab, you can call me a social entrepreneur and a human right activist.

I started White Ribbon Pakistan more than a decade ago with an idea to create awareness about the deeply penetrated issue of violence against women and girls in our society. I can fairly say that White Ribbon brought the concept of working on the mindset and behavioural change of the perpetrator (mostly men in our country) rather than preaching to the victims who are already suppressed.

How has the pandemic contributed to domestic violence? Are there more cases than before? 

No doubt, the world has seen an exponential rise in the curve of domestic violence during the pandemic. In Pakistan domestic violence both physical and mental has aggravated since the pandemic began.

In Pakistan, it is hard to measure that to what extent domestic violence is aggravated by the pandemic and lockdown because it is happening behind closed doors and it has a long history of under-reporting.

Due to the lockdown, the world has experienced a serious problem of providing access/relief to the victims. Various strategies have been adopted to bring legal access and support to the victims. Even in Pakistan, the Government has widely promoted its helpline so victims can get legal aid across Pakistan.

White Ribbon feels that mental health is a serious issue which causes the increase in domestic violence, we foresee that in the coming months the situation might get more serious due to increase in unemployment, financial burden, and frustration of adjusting to the new normal.

Are there any stats you know? 

We do not have any official data regarding the last quarter, but we have witnessed and referred many cases where mental health and marital issues are on the top.

How do you think we can help victims in this situation?

The objective of the White Ribbon is to engage men in the dialogue from all walks of life and create an enabling environment, where not only women are standing at the front line to guard the victims. If we put this into action, it means that we encourage society to create a support system where any form of violence is unacceptable by whosoever.

COVID 19 is new to all of us, even the perpetrators. At this time, we can engage the stakeholders, Police, medicolegal, lawyers and organisations who are working to protect the victims to be more vigilant and quicker in action. We can’t stress enough on the fact that an individual’s support system is the biggest protection, and first to call for protection.

Encouraging women to stand up against any form of violence and asking men to endorse this ideology is the key step to support our women who stuck at home.

What is the solution according you in this situation?

To solve these kinds of issues, family, friends and neighbours of the victim should take action and support the victims of domestic violence. This is a testing time for everyone, and frustration levels are high, but none of this can excuse causing harm to another person. So, break the silence to end domestic violence and pledge today never to commit, excuse and remain silent about violence against women.

We focus on men’s role in preventing violence because Men can play a significant role in ending violence against women. Men can influence the results by changing their behaviour and convincing others to stop violence against women too. We need to curb the destructive beliefs, patriarchal mindset and expectations about what it means to be a man, the ultimate cause of violence against women. Working with men and boys can offer alternative models of masculinity and manhood, which reject gender violence and build respect for women and girls.