Send message to Author

Abstract

This paper examines the transformation of women’s complaint mechanisms in Punjab, Pakistan, from physical Women Police Stations (WPS) to Virtual Women Police Stations (VWPS). It asks to what extent this shift from “bricks to clicks” has substantively improved women’s access to justice and whether digital expansion has translated into meaningful accountability. I argue that while the virtual model has dramatically increased accessibility and reporting, it has not proportionately strengthened investigative capacity or judicial outcomes, resulting in a hybrid system marked by an accessibility–accountability gap.

This paper is based on a mixed-method research design combining three sources: (1) official Punjab Police administrative data from 2021–2025, including district-level statistics on case registration, resolution rates, FIRs, and arrest rates; (2) qualitative interviews with police officials and stakeholders and (3) analysis of existing scholarship on gender-sensitive policing and institutional reform in Pakistan. A comparative analytical framework distinguishes between administrative case disposal and formal judicial outcomes.

The findings demonstrate an unprecedented expansion in reporting through VWPS. In Lahore, for example, the virtual platform processed over 106,000 complaints compared to 322 cases registered at the physical WPS during a comparable period. Province-wide, virtual stations handled multiple times the caseload of physical stations combined. However, only a small proportion of virtual complaints resulted in FIR registration or arrest in serious crimes such as rape, honor killings, and acid attacks. Interviews reveal that VWPS function primarily as high-volume intake and grievance-filtering systems, while investigation, evidence collection, and prosecution remain dependent on traditional police units. Weak integration between digital and physical systems, limited investigative autonomy, patriarchal institutional cultures, and resource and digital literacy gaps constrain substantive justice outcomes.

By situating these findings within broader debates on digital governance, gender-responsive policing, and institutional reform, this paper contributes empirical evidence on the limits of digital interventions in enhancing substantive justice outcomes. It demonstrates that while technological platforms can increase accessibility, they do not automatically ensure accountability, highlighting for integrated legal reforms, unified case-management systems, and capacity-building measures to bridge the gap between expanded access and effective accountability. Although based on Punjab, the study has broader implications for South Asia, offering insights into how digital policing initiatives intersect with socio-cultural constraints, bureaucratic structures, and gendered access to justice.