Experts urge youth engagement to curb violence against women
Both social and legal reforms are required to eradicate gender discrimination plus violence against women
Representational image. Illustration: Collected
Policymakers, development partners and researchers at a day-long virtual dialogue have shed light on strengthening young people's engagement to combat violence against women and children.
At an event, jointly hosted by JAAGO Foundation and UN Women Bangladesh on Saturday, they looked into potential solutions to counteract the Covid-19 fallout through the gender lens.
Korvi Rakshand, JAAGO Foundation founder and executive director, pointed to rising gender violence incidents during the pandemic and underscored the need to raise mass awareness.
The day-long event was divided into three broad categories – The frontline response to Covid-19: The role of youth organisations; He for She: The unbalanced workload for women during Covid-19 and Sexual Harassment: Online and offline.
At the discussion on the frontline response to the pandemic, Towhida Shiropa, founder of Moner Bondhu, advocated for mental health support to women experiencing violence.
Jakir Hossain, finance secretary at Bidyanondo Foundation, emphasised equal distribution of relief materials to marginalised men and women.
In the meantime, Bindu Women Development Organization Executive Director Jannatul Mouwa underscored the need to provide women with training to make them self-reliant.
Tanjim Ferdous, national consultant at the United Nations (UN) in Bangladesh, moderated the session.
Syeda Samara Mortada, regional movement builder, Asia of SheDecides, moderated the second session on unequal gender-based workload where UN Women Bangladesh Country Representative Shoko Ishikawa talked about how the youth could play the crucial role to eradicate gender-based social stigma.
During that session, Norway Ambassador to Bangladesh Espen Rikter-Svendsen said both social and legal reforms are required to eradicate gender discrimination and violence against women.
Taqbir Huda, research specialist at Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and also coordinator at Justice for All Now (JANO) Bangladesh, discussed victim-blaming culture and how the perpetrators are given a safe exit.
In the third session on sexual harassment moderated by UN Women Bangladesh Communications Analyst Shararat Islam, United Nations Resident Coordinator Mia Seppo stressed digital literacy, bringing a systemic change and taking the existing policies to implementation level.
Swatil Binte Mahmud, founder of Swayong and member of Feminist Across Generations, said storytelling has proven to be an effective method in raising awareness on violence against women.
She also highlighted the importance of including more young voices to bring about social change.
Addressing the discussion, State Minister for Information and
Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak urged everyone to verify news before sharing it to combat the spread of fake news and rumours. He also stressed the importance of online safety for children and parents.
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