Sexual violence

74 children victimised in February alone: Report

At least 74 children were victims of sexual violence in the country in February, a women’s rights organisation reported yesterday. Of these, 59 children were raped, 10 gang-raped, four murdered after being raped and one victim committed suicide, according to a report by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP). Overall, there were 337 reports of sexual violence against women and girls in February. The number was 326 in January.

At least 114 rape incidents were reported, of which 80 were raped, 24 gang-raped, nine murdered after being raped, and one who died by suicide after being raped, according to data collected from 15 national dailies from February1 to 29. The report also revealed that four women suffered arson attacks and two of them were burnt to death. Two women were subjected to fatwa.

Although cases of violence against women and children occur daily across Bangladesh, few of them are reported and even fewer win the legal battle for justice, said the BMP. Rights activists blamed a culture of impunity, bias on the part of law enforcers and the administration, social and political unrest, moral decadence, and lack of awareness for the increase in violence against women.

The BMP report also found that more than 43 women and girls were murdered in for various reasons, 16 were physically assaulted, and 13 abducted in February. Also, six women were tortured for dowry and three were murdered, the report mentioned. As many as 22 women and girls committed suicide after being tortured while 19 died mysteriously, it added. A total 16 incidents of child marriage took place, while nine others were victims of cybercrime, the report said.

BMP president Ayesha Khanam said even though women occupied important positions in the country, their rights were not established. She also said girls were not safe even in their homes. “The law and order situation has deteriorated to such an extent that women now feel insecure to travel by public transport,” she added. “Aggressive mentality of a person grows in the family. We have to create conciseness by cooperating with both male and female members of a family,” she said.

 

Sexual violence

74 children victimised in February alone: Report

At least 74 children were victims of sexual violence in the country in February, a womens rights organisation reported yesterday. Of these, 59 children were raped, 10 gang-raped, four murdered after being raped and one victim committed suicide, according to a report by Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP). Overall, there were 337 reports of sexual violence against women and girls in February. The number was 326 in January. At least 114 rape incidents were reported, of which 80 were raped, 24 gang-raped, nine murdered after being raped, and one who died by suicide after being raped, according to data collected from 15 national dailies from February1 to 29. The report also revealed that four women suffered arson attacks and two of them were burnt to death. Two women were subjected to fatwa. Although cases of violence against women and children occur daily across Bangladesh, few of them are reported and even fewer win the legal battle for justice, said the BMP. Rights activists blamed a culture of impunity, bias on the part of law enforcers and the administration, social and political unrest, moral decadence, and lack of awareness for the increase in violence against women. The BMP report also found that more than 43 women and girls were murdered in for various reasons, 16 were physically assaulted, and 13 abducted in February. Also, six women were tortured for dowry and three were murdered, the report mentioned. As many as 22 women and girls committed suicide after being tortured while 19 died mysteriously, it added. A total 16 incidents of child marriage took place, while nine others were victims of cybercrime, the report said. BMP president Ayesha Khanam said even though women occupied important positions in the country, their rights were not established. She also said girls were not safe even in their homes. The law and order situation has deteriorated to such an extent that women now feel insecure to travel by public transport, she added. Aggressive mentality of a person grows in the family. We have to create conciseness by cooperating with both male and female members of a family, she said.