653 incidents of violence against women and children in three months

In the three months between July and September this year, 653 incidents of violence against women and children are reported to have taken place in the country.

The findings come from a survey conducted by WE CAN Bangladesh, an alliance of civil society members and organisations.

Of the total, 55 percent, or 356 of the incidents of violence, relate to rape.

WE CAN Bangladesh based its survey on reports published in six national newspapers between July 1 and September 30.      

As revealed in the findings, 147 of the incidents were murders. The three-month period also saw 17 women and children committing suicide, with 46 women falling prey to sexual harassment.  

There were also 18 incidents of child marriage. The alliance recorded 23 incidents of domestic violence, five incidents of violence against children and an incident of an acid attack in the period.

Fourteen incidents of abduction took place in the three months, while the remaining 24 incidents relate to other forms of violence against women and children.  

Of the total number of victims, 22 percent are children ranging in age from seven to 18 years.

The survey report found that 169 incidents took place in family surroundings, a situation described as alarming.

At the same time, violence has been perpetrated at workplaces, educational institutions, hotels, public places, and in public transport.

In terms of seeking legal assistance, cases were filed in 64 percent of the incidents. Final verdicts were reached in a mere eight cases.    

Zinat Ara Haque, Executive Coordinator of WE CAN, in her response to the findings, noted that no development could be sustainable with women lagging behind.

Demanding exemplary punishment for culprits in each and every incident of violence against women, she said only exemplary punishment can curb gender violence.

WE CAN Bangladesh aims at bringing men and women together an organised mass movement in order to transform existing power relations in society.

It means to break the silence, denial, shame and stigma surrounding the issue of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women and bring it into the public domain as a means of arousing public awareness and ensuring accountability through a process of justice for women and children who are victims of violence.