The police have arrested a ride-hailing driver for harassing a woman in Lahore inside his vehicle.
According to reports, the police traced the driver using modern technology within an hour and arrested him.
The suspect reportedly harassed the woman during the ride and slapped her, which led her to file an official complaint against him.
It is pertinent to mention that many women in Pakistan have complained about the inappropriate behaviour of ride-hailing drivers.
This year, Pakistan’s first Virtual Women Police Station (VWPS), established under the Punjab Safe Cities Authority, acted promptly to arrest a rickshaw driver involved in harassing a woman on Empress Road, Lahore.
In a similar incident, Gulberg police arrested a driver for harassing a family inside his car.
The Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) directed online taxi services in Pakistan to prove compliance with the Workplace Act 2010.
Harassment and violence cases in Pakistan
In Pakistan, 28 per cent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, and 6 per cent have experienced sexual violence. 34 per cent of ever-married women have experienced spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence. Five per cent of women have experienced spousal sexual violence (Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18). 56 per cent of women who have experienced any physical or sexual violence have not sought help or talked with anyone about the violence. This is mainly due to socio-cultural barriers, economic dependency, and lack of information, accessibility, as well as lack of support systems such as health care and psycho-social support services.
