A sessions court in Karachi recently ruled that out-of-court settlements are no longer permissible in rape cases, a historic move that marks the end of backdoor deals and compromises made under duress that exonerate perpetrators of all responsibility. In 2022 alone, of the 1,301 cases of sexual violence tried in courts, a marginal 0.2% ended with a conviction. In 2020, Pakistan ranked at the top of the United Nations Development Programme’s list of countries with an anti-women bias in courts. Just a few months ago, a Peshawar court provoked international outrage after freeing a convicted rapist when he agreed to marry his victim, a deal that was negotiated by a local jirga in the area. Rape is a non-compoundable offence in Pakistan which makes it even more frightening that parallel justice systems continue to take precedence over the actual law. Compromises of this nature are not an anomaly but the norm in patriarchal Pakistan where women still struggle to establish credibility both in court and outside it. Threats and coercion by family and society are far too common, rape victims tend to avoid court altogether in the majority of cases, fearing the stigma that comes with a trial. Rape is a non-compoundable offence in Pakistan which makes it even more frightening that parallel justice systems continue to take precedence over the actual law. When a rape case does get prosecuted, survivors are urged to settle matters outside court instead. Pakistani rape laws continue to treat instances of rape as a private crime against a person rather than a crime against the state, allowing perpetrators to negotiate all sorts of underhanded settlements with the victim. Rape victims may be asked for ‘forgiveness’ or compensated financially if the perpetrator in question is influential and the victim is from a low-income family. Pakistan is a long way from protecting its women but a welcome first step would be to conduct gender-sensitisation trainings for judges, lawyers, policemen and even medico-legal officers; all of whom are entangled in a deep-rooted culture of victim blaming that keeps rape survivors from accessing justice. It is the state’s job to assume responsibility for rape victims and maintain the integrity of the written law. *