Incidents related to domestic violence against women and children are escalating in the Western Development Region. According to statistics at the Western Development Regional Police Office Pokhara, as many as 1,054 cases of violence against women and children have been registered at Western Regional Police Office Pokhara in the last seven months. DIGP Pankaj Shrestha said that Kaski had received the highest 211 cases. Manang, however, has not registered a single such case. As many as 776 cases registered at the office were settled with the initiatives of police, 129 were sent to court while 221 cases are yet to be examined due to the absence of the plaintiffs. The western region had received as many as 1,788 cases last year with 448 cases in Kaski and one case in Manang. Of the cases, 1,238 were settled through milapatra (reconciliation) while as many as 233 were sent to court. Similarly, a total of 250 women were forced to kill themselves due to domestic violence this year, according to data maintained by the regional police office, compared to 380 women committing suicide last year in the region.

Similarly, 16 districts of the western region have recorded 96 rape cases, 63 attempted rape cases, 58 cases of polygamy, and 21 cases of human trafficking. Likewise, one person each was tortured on the charges of witchcraft in Myagdi and Palpa. According to police, suicide cases are increasing in the region due to foreign employment, family dispute, failure in studies, and poverty among others. Sarala Kumari Pandey, Chairperson of Women Human Rights Protection Network Kaski, said that it was high time that all concerned tried to find out the reasons behind increasing cases of domestic violence and acted to curb them. Executive Director of Kopila Nepal, Bina Silwal, who is active in the field of women and mental health, said domestic violence cases were high not only in illiterate families but also in educated urban communities. Women's rights activists have also expressed concern about the increase in the number of cases of violence against women and children.

Numbing numbers • 1,054 cases of violence against women and children have been registered at Western Regional Police Office Pokhara in the last seven months

• Kaski recorded the highest number of cases (2110

•As many as 1,788 cases of domestic violence were registered in the region last year, with 448 cases in Kaski and one case in Manang

• A total of 250 women have committed suicide this year. As many as 380 women had killed selves last year

•16 districts of the western region have recorded 96 rape cases, 63 attempted rape cases, 58 cases of polygamy, and 21 cases of human trafficking