‘Nothing works without money’: How harassment becomes widespread crisis for families in Bangladesh

A new survey by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) has revealed that harassment has become a pervasive part of everyday life for Bangladeshi families, cutting across essential services, workplaces, and public spaces. 

The study highlights that, alongside recurring household crises such as natural disasters, medical expenses, loan repayments, education costs, and legal battles, harassment has surfaced as a distinct and damaging problem that has not yet received the policy attention it demands.

The report makes a clear distinction between harassment and corruption, stressing that the economic and emotional toll of the former is often overlooked. "A bribe may be only Tk10, but the week lost in delays and hassles costs much more," the study notes, underlining the hidden financial and productivity losses borne by households. 

Alarming levels across sectors

The survey shows that harassment is most acute in healthcare services, with nearly 49% of households nationwide and 56% in urban areas reporting negative experiences. Markets emerged as another hotspot, with 42% of households nationally and 52% in urban locations citing harassment.

Government services (22% nationally, 30% urban), educational institutions (16% nationally, 24% urban), streets (18% nationally, 28% urban), and workplaces (15%) were also identified as significant areas of concern. The findings suggest that harassment is not confined to a single sphere of life but is woven into multiple layers of social interaction.

Types of harassment

The most common form of harassment reported was the perception that "nothing works without money," cited by 75% of households. Other frequently experienced problems included bureaucratic hassles (36%), lack of clear service guidance (23%), delays (22%), inattentive or unavailable officials (20–17%), poor behaviour (14%), and a general lack of ethics or willingness to help (12%).

PPRC Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman remarked, "Harassment is difficult to define, but it is a lived reality in our society. It is rarely discussed, yet it urgently needs to be brought into national dialogue."

The report warns that harassment, much like corruption, undermines productivity, erodes public trust, and weakens social accountability. PPRC calls on policymakers to recognise harassment as both a social and economic challenge and to integrate it into governance reform agendas.

The survey also sheds light on patterns of corruption, reporting a significant decline in household bribe payments. The percentage of households paying bribes or subjected to extortion fell from 8.54% to 3.69% after August 2024.

While this decline is encouraging, the findings also reveal troubling shifts. The police remain the largest recipients of bribes, with their share rising from 31.77% to 39.37%. Payments to political leaders and activists also increased, signalling growing risks in those areas. 

In contrast, bribes to local government representatives and government offices decreased, hinting that targeted anti-corruption measures may have had some effect.

Changing nature of corruption 

The motives behind bribe payments are evolving. While "faster service" and outright "demand" remain common, their share has declined. Instead, more households are now paying bribes to "avoid legal or process hassle," "due to confusion over rules," or "lack of influence."

This trend points to a deeper structural challenge: corruption may be shifting from direct demand to systemic complexity, where citizens are compelled to pay simply to navigate a convoluted and opaque governance system. Experts caution that such practices can entrench mistrust, normalise unethical behaviour, and undermine accountability.

The PPRC report provides a critical snapshot of the changing dynamics of both harassment and corruption in Bangladesh. While the fall in bribe payments is a positive sign, the persistence of harassment across essential services calls for immediate policy attention.

The findings highlight the urgent need for governance reforms that not only punish wrongdoers but also simplify regulations, improve transparency, and make public services more responsive. Without addressing harassment as a systemic issue, progress against corruption and broader efforts to strengthen social trust may remain incomplete.