From home to shelter home: Victimization of young women in Pakistan.

Abstract

The current study explores young women's decision to leave their parental homes in Pakistan. Fifteen women (14 to 23 years) were interviewed from three shelter homes situated in Lahore, one of the cosmopolitan cities of Pakistan. The purpose of the study was to explore the familial structural and functional factors that influence young women's decision to leave their parental home. The in-depth interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, translated, and analysed by identification of themes. Content analysis revealed salient familial structural (broken homes, economic strain, and familial involvement in illegitimate activities) as well as functional factors (harmful parental practices characterised by neglect or authoritarian attitude, double standard, discrimination, and sibling rivalry, etc.) as the background factors for leaving home. These dysfunctional familial factors set the stage for emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, which the women often reported as the ultimate cause of their decision to run away.

Pilot study: Evaluating the effectiveness of forgiveness therapy with abused early adolescent females in Pakistan.

“…However, in Pakistan, sexual abuse is a taboo where, when disclosed, can result in direct family and social consequences (Asian Development Bank, 2000; Gilligan & Akhtar, 2005; Jibeen, 2014). For the sake of family honor, families ask their daughters to stay quiet on the issue, and especially for a girl who is sexually abused, she would be socially isolated and nobody from a respectable family would want to marry her as she would be viewed in a negative light.…”

Child Protection System and Challenges in Pakistan

“…The government and voluntary philanthropic organisations have also taken responsibility for the care of vulnerable groups of children (Rehmatullah, 2002). However, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported in 2014 that Pakistani children are susceptible to exploitation, abuse, violence due to severe weakness in the legal and social protection framework (Jibeen and William, 2014).…”