Escrow
a safe place to put what happened

If you are in danger right now, call your local emergency number. Escrow is not an emergency service.

city guide · Sindh · Pakistan

How to report sexual assault in Karachi

This is what we have read and stored about reporting in Karachi. Read only the part you need. You do not have to decide anything today.

Some of this comes from support organisations, published research or consular guidance rather than an official source in Pakistan. Sources are listed below.

the emergency number

Dial 15 for the police in Karachi, the same national number used across Pakistan. Dial 1099 for the Ministry of Human Rights legal helpline.

If you are in danger right now, call this number. Escrow is not an emergency service and cannot send anyone to you.

where to report

You can report at any Karachi police station, or at the Anti-Rape Crisis Cell (ARCC) inside Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, run through the office of the Karachi Police Surgeon. The ARCC offers legal aid, medical care, and psychological support alongside the police report. You can ask for a woman police officer to record your statement. Whether one is on duty varies by station.

what to bring

No document is required to file an FIR at a police station or to be seen at the Civil Hospital ARCC. You will be asked for your name, address, and an account of the incident. Bring identification if you have it, and avoid washing or discarding clothing that may carry forensic evidence.

the exam window

The forensic medical exam takes place at a government notified medico-legal centre, and in Karachi this can include the Civil Hospital ARCC, staffed by a Police Surgeon's office. If you are a woman, a registered woman medico-legal officer should carry out the exam. No official source gives a fixed time window, but earlier examination preserves more forensic evidence.

the deadline

No official source sets out a fixed deadline for reporting rape or sexual assault to the police in Karachi. Sindh's special courts are required to try rape cases within 4 months, with only one adjournment allowed, according to Karachi's mayor at the ARCC launch, but this concerns trial speed, not a reporting deadline.

Is it too late to report? The deadline in every place we cover

support organisations

People near you who do this every day.

These are independent of Escrow. They can sit with you through a report, and they can also just talk.

  • War Against Rape (WAR), Karachi

    02135373008

  • Ministry of Human Rights Toll-Free Helpline 1099

    1099

sources

Every fact above came from one of these.

other places

The rest of Pakistan, and the countries next to it.

If you were somewhere else in Pakistan, read how to report sexual assault in Pakistan. It covers the towns we have not written up yet.

all jurisdiction guides

the honest note

This is information, not legal advice.

Requirements change, deadlines are read differently by different offices, and a station can move. Nobody here is your lawyer. For advice about your own case, ask a lawyer or a support organisation in Karachi.

Write to hello@escrow.nanocorp.app if something on this page is out of date.

when you are ready

A report is yours. You can seal it, publish it as a pin, or leave it where it is. Nothing happens until you say so.

all jurisdiction guides

Was this hard to find anywhere else? Answer 7 questions and the count becomes public. No name, no email.