Rape victims across the country hesitate to bring charges because of the existing culture of impunity, moral degradation and the rapists getting political backing in many cases, together with various barriers to legal procedures.
Ain o Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal has said the rape incidents in Bangladesh are growing awfully and it is a matter of regret that the charges against the rapists do not work as per rule. On the other hand, the rape victims have to face various problems in process of law. As a result, a large number of victims are reluctant to bring charges.
A total of 3695 charges were brought against rapists in 2014, 3930 in 2015, 1538 in 2016, 3995 in 2017, 3949 in 2018 and 1538 in 2019 up to April, sources from police headquarters said.
According to a research study by BRAC University's School of Law, lack of proper and adequate evidence, weak presentation of cases by the prosecution, few out of court settlements, insufficient police investigation and case backlog are the main reasons for low conviction rate. The High Court earlier issued 18 directives in a verdict ordering that any relevant police station must record a rape case and send samples for DNA test to a forensic laboratory within 48 hours from the alleged crime taking place.
The High Court also asked authorities to consider those directives as 'guidelines' and follow them until a specific law is made to ensure protection, security, investigation and justice for women and children who are sexually abused or raped.
BLAST lawyer Sharmin Akter has said that the court ruled that the victim can start a case in any police stations and the case will have to be recorded without any delay." "Victims must be given the security they need and have their privacy protected."
Academics have said it is a grave concern that rape is becoming frequent occurrence in our society and there is a report of an incident of sexual violence every day from somewhere in the country, each is more heinous than the one before. The victim profile is so diverse indicating that no woman is safe.
The punishment for such crimes against women and girls must be exemplary for demoralizing the criminals. The percentage of unreported cases is already high and getting higher each year. If rapid lawful action is not taken immediately in cases of violence and rape against women and girls, such crimes will grow unabated, law experts said.
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