Day 2 of the SHARP-Women Balochistan Cohort on Gender-Based Violence and Survivor-Centered Justice

Justice Begins with Understanding: Inside the Courtroom, Inside the Survivor’s Story

SHARP-Women Balochistan Cohort | Highlights, Day 2 of 5

You can’t fight what you don’t understand.

Day 2 went straight to the core: what gender-based violence is, why it happens, and how justice must respond.

Ms. Ena Junejo, Judge of the GBV Model Court, Malir, set the tone. She unpacked how GBV plays out in Balochistan and Sindh, and how gender, class and ethnicity deepen vulnerability.

Ms. Zashia Rehman (Addl. Sessions Judge / Faculty SJA) took participants inside the courtroom: procedure, evidence assessment, victim protection and the real challenges of delivering justice.

Then the toolkit grew:

• Mr. Kapil Dev (Gender Specialist, Reform Support Unit, Government of Sindh) covered confidentiality, conflicts of interest and the do-no-harm principle.

• Ms. Safia Lakho (IVLP-certified GBV trainer) covered the FIR process, legal safeguards and survivors’ rights under Pakistani law.

• Ms. Kainat Zaheer (Clinical Psychologist & MHPSS Expert) covered trauma-informed legal support.

The day ended with powerful role plays. Participants took turns as lawyer, survivor and observer, so each of them felt every side of a sensitive conversation.