The pandemic has led to an increase in gender-based violence across the country, including a surge in sexual violence against women and children, according to recent reports by several organizations.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 18,221 cases related to women and children victims to violence were filed till December 15, said Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) in a recent report.
Simultaneously, at least 1,546 women were victims of rape between January to November of 2020, rights body Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) said in a recent report.
The report also found that among the victims, 303 were gang-raped, 51 were killed after rape and 14 committed suicide after rape.
Besides, 311 attempts to rape were found during the first eleven months of this year, the ASK data showed.
According to a BRAC report, a non-government organization, there was a 70 per cent rise in reported incidents of gender-based violence against women in March and April 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year.
Recently, BNWLA recommended ensuring survivor-centric comprehensive legal assistance to women and children rape survivors to stop the frequent rape incidents and other forms of violence against women.
Besides, it also suggested introducing psycho-social services, women-and-child-friendly legal aid services and safe shelters to stop rape incidents.
BNWLA suggested establishing a separate court at the High Court for speedy trial of cases related to violence against women. It also urged the government to use modern forensic technology to ensure proper investigation of such cases.
BNWLA made these recommendations at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club on December 28.
Earlier on December 17, The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said South Asian governments including Bangladesh should disregard populist death penalty rhetoric and listen to their own experts to prevent and end sexual violence against women.
According to HRW, many experts expressed concern that weak justice systems wielding such power could yield inverse impact in society, including the right to a fair trial.
Moreover, many experts believe that imposing the death penalty may further deter some survivors from coming forward, HRW said.
The human rights watchdog said, when survivors of sexual violence seek justice, they often face insurmountable obstacles in the courts and conviction rates are extremely low across the region.
For example, in Bangladesh, it is estimated that fewer than one per cent of rape cases investigated by police lead to any conviction.
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