Hafsah Lak

Founder, Violence Against Women Center, Pakistan

Hafsah Lak graduated from the Lahore University of Management Sciences where she studied economics and political science, followed by The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. From 2014-2017, Lak worked at the chief minister’s Special Monitoring Unit (Law and Order) in Punjab, Pakistan, where she co-drafted the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Act of 2016 and Punjab Women Protection Authority Ordinance 2017.

This legislation led to the establishment of a first-of-its-kind Violence Against Women Center, which streamline and integrate police, prosecution, forensics, medical treatment and mental health, and post-trauma rehabilitation services under one roof to help deliver justice to survivors of gender-based violence and to create a deterrence for such crimes.

At the Clinton Global Forum University Conference, Lak was one of a select few students to be recognized for her work in humans rights and public policy.

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How ‘Violence Against Women Centers’ are reforming Pakistan’s deadly cultural norm

How do you stop domestic violence in a country with a 1%-2.5% conviction rate? Pakistan’s first-ever Violence Against Women Center makes it safer for survivors of crime to report and prosecute.

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7 min

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with

Hafsah Lak