Violence against women, children shoots up

The country in the last three months has experienced a wave of sexual abuse, rape and other forms of violence against women and children, which rights activists blame on impunity, perception about women and ubiquity of uncensored web content.

Among four children admitted to the One Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital last week, one is only two and a half years' old, said doctors at the centre. She had been molested by a college student who lives in a building across hers. The others were four, seven and thirteen years.

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“Had the government ensured punishment of perpetrators through speedy trial in at least the sensational cases, the cases of rape and violence would have been reduced,” said Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association that handles many cases related to violence against women.

Referring to the Tonu murder that was followed by an outpouring of anger and countrywide demonstration in March, she said, “Though the reasons for the death could not be known after two autopsies, it is established that she was raped, but police have not even pressed charges in the case in seven months.”

As many as 294 women and children were admitted to eight OCCs across the country between July and September, indicating a rise of above 10 percent compared to the period from April to June, said Abul Hossain, project director of the OCC.

The actual number of victims would be more than twice the number of women and children seeking institutional help, Salma said.

The OCC at the DMCH alone received 81 victims of abuse in October, said doctors at the centre. Of them, 25 children and 13 women had been raped.

The number of women and girls taken to the DMCH crisis centre in the last six months is 20 percent more than the previous six months, said Khwaja Abdul Gofur, deputy director of the DMCH.

“Fear of being ostracised in society, being victimised again and losing status and sometimes monetary compensations are the reasons why so many incidents of rape and other forms of violence remain unreported,” Salma said.

The recent rise in the rape cases came under media attention on October 25 when a five-year-old girl was brought to the DMCH in a critical condition.

The brutal nature of torture leaving marks of bites, burns and scratches on her body shocked the nation.

Visiting her on Wednesday, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Kazi Reazul Haque demanded quick disposal of rape cases. 

In another incident on October 20, a restaurant owner beat up teenage twin sisters in the capital's Mirpur for protesting abusive language used by him. They were returning home from college at the time.

Echoing Salma Ali of the lawyers' association, human rights activist Sultana Kamal said lengthy legal process was one of the reasons why fear of justice didn't deter perpetrators.

“Except a handful of cases, most of the perpetrators of violence in the sensational cases were arrested in recent months. But we can't cite a single example of the perpetrators being punished…. The cases hardly move.”