Domestic Violence Bill 2025: A New Social Contract Between State, Society, and Law

There are certain moments in Pakistan’s legislative history when Parliament does not merely enact a statute but reshapes the ethical architecture of society itself. The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2025 belongs precisely to this rare category of lawmaking an overarching social covenant that must be understood not through the narrow lens of legal phrasing but through the broader moral framework of human dignity. In essence, this bill speaks to every individual who, within the ostensibly sacred boundaries of the home, endures daily psychological, physical, or economic oppression yet lacks the voice or the means to protest. Violence is not confined to the corporeal realm; the violation of the human spirit is also a crime. In societies where domestic injustice is conveniently justified as “anger,” “tradition,” or a “family matter,” numerous forms of abuse fail to qualify as legally cognizable offences. It is precisely this void that the bill seeks to address.

For the first time, not only physical violence but emotional and psychological harm, verbal degradation and humiliation, economic coercion, sexual harassment, baseless allegations, intrusion into personal privacy, and most significantly, neglect have all been categorically codified as criminal acts. This expansion of definition is not a mere juridical amendment; it is a civilizational statement an affirmation that a human being is not merely a body but an assemblage of emotions, sensitivities, and inner wounds. Bodies do not break without first breaking the heart, and psychological injuries often penetrate far deeper than visible bruises. The law therefore acknowledges, for the first time, that suffering exists even when it leaves no visible trace.

For decades, verbal abuse has been normalized within Pakistani households. Parents, spouses, siblings, and elder family members have often justified harsh words as part of maintaining “discipline.” This bill categorically overturns that notion: if the tongue inflicts a wound, it is a crime, and the tyranny of language can no longer be concealed behind the walls of domestic silence. Declaring baseless accusation a punishable act stands as one of the bill’s most consequential measures. When a false allegation jeopardizes the honor of a household member, it is not mere untruth it becomes a stark manifestation of violence.

Likewise, compelling a wife to live with individuals she does not wish to reside with is now an unforgivable offence. Within Pakistani societal structures, women are often compelled to inhabit environments where they feel insecure, powerless, or stripped of autonomy. Criminalizing forcing a wife to live with others against her will constitutes the first decisive legal repudiation of this entrenched cultural pattern. It affirms that a wife is not the property of the household but a life partner endowed with rights, dignity, and freedom.

Neglect, perhaps the most insidious form of cruelty, produces neither audible cries nor visible scars, yet it transforms every moment of life into a continuum of suffering. Disregarding a wife’s emotional, psychological, or financial needs, neglecting children’s care, or abandoning elderly parents has long been rationalized as “laziness” or “incapacity.” The law now clearly proclaims these behaviours to be criminal acts. This provision introduces a new conceptual foundation of responsibility one that is both legal and moral.

The penalties outlined in the bill embody not only punitive intent but also deterrence. The range of punishment from six months to three years’ imprisonment, fines up to one hundred thousand rupees, and additional imprisonment in case of non-payment is a declaration that domestic violence will henceforth be treated as a serious and prosecutable offence. Assisting or abetting such acts carries equal punishment. The law asserts unequivocally that violence committed within the home remains a crime regardless of context or setting.

For the first time, the legislation mandates that courts conduct the initial hearing within seven days and issue a final decision within ninety days. Furthermore, instead of ordering the victim to leave the home, the law empowers the court to expel the perpetrator an unprecedented shift that aligns justice with the vulnerable rather than the oppressor. Courts may also require a security bond to ensure that the perpetrator does not reoffend. Thus, the bill does not merely punish past violence; it actively ensures future protection.

The effectiveness of this legislation ultimately depends on the operational strength of Protection Committees comprising police representatives, social workers, psychologists, women’s rights advocates, and Protection Officers. This multi-layered institutional structure underscores the reality that domestic violence is not solely a legal phenomenon; it is simultaneously a social, psychological, and administrative problem. Without addressing all three dimensions, any form of justice remains incomplete.

Some critics argue that such laws precipitate the disintegration of families. Yet the truth is that families are sustained by love, trust, and a sense of safety not by fear, intimidation, or coercion. This law does not weaken the family; it fortifies it. It does not generate animosity among relationships; it establishes new standards of respect. It does not fracture the home; it emancipates it from the tyranny of silence.

The greater challenge, however, lies not in the law itself but in its implementation. The seriousness of police response, the timeliness of judicial proceedings, the impartiality of Protection Committees, and society’s moral rejection of violence these are the essential conditions for the law’s success. Books of law do not transform societies; societies transform when they choose to. Yet every transformation begins with a single decisive step. This bill represents precisely that step.

The Domestic Violence Bill 2025 is not merely a statutory text; it is a cultural manifesto. It proclaims that the silence of the home will no longer conceal crime, that fear will no longer overshadow the authority of the law, and that human dignity is as sacred within the home as it is outside it. For the first time, the state of Pakistan has affirmed that there exists no enclave where oppression may hide not even within the four walls of a household.

For relationships endure only when they are built not merely on affection but also on justice, respect, and equality.

This law ultimately conveys one fundamental message:

“A home is a home only when it shelters never when it terrifies.”