Stakeholders unite to tackle sexual violence against marginalised women, girls in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces a pervasive crisis of sexual violence, with conviction rates among the lowest in the world, and for women and girls from marginalised communities, the effect is disproportionate with barriers to accessing justice standing as blocks. 

To address these systemic failures and chart a path toward reform, survivors, community leaders, women's rights organisations, legal experts, and policymakers on Thursday (14 August) gathered at Emma Mary Hall, YWCA in Dhaka for a landmark consultation organised by Equality Now, SAMAJ, Nagorik Uddyog, Women with Disabilities Development Foundation, Badabon Sangho and Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust, reads a press release. 

New research by Equality Now and the South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice (SAMAJ) - Exploring Legal Aid Mechanisms for Survivors of Sexual Violence in South Asia - has documented that legal aid structures fail to provide disability-friendly, culturally relevant, or language-accessible services for these communities, especially in rural or conflict-prone areas in the brief. 

Photo: Courtesy

The urgency is underscored by Human Rights Watch data showing conviction rates for rape at less than 1% in 2021, with unofficial estimates of just 3% between 2002 and 2016. 

Opening the event, Zakir Hossain, chief executive of Nagorik Uddyog, said, "Incidents of violence against women are not new in Bangladesh, but they are especially prevalent among marginalised communities. Due to social stigma, most cases are never documented, making the expectation of justice unrealistic." 

Equality Now's Julie Thekkudan explained, "While Bangladesh has strong laws, weaknesses in implementation remain a significant barrier to justice. Across South Asia, we are working with local organisations to bring these issues into the open and push for systemic change." 

The consultation heard deeply personal testimonies illustrating the scale and complexity of the crisis. Indigenous women's rights leader Donai Pru Nelly described the challenges of language barriers and fear of reprisal in the hill districts, "In Bandarban, a 16-year-old girl became pregnant after being raped by her father and was expelled from her village. Survivors need shelters, government support, and the courage that comes from strong community organisations." 

Others spoke about unsafe working conditions for garment workers, inaccessible courtrooms for people with disabilities, harassment of fisherfolk women when filing complaints, and the extreme isolation of tea garden workers – many of whom earn only Tk180 a day and have no local support networks. 

The consultation concluded with a call for urgent government action to improve legal protections, make legal aid disability-friendly and culturally relevant, and raise awareness so that all women know their rights and how to access justice. Organisers will follow up with meetings with key government agencies and national media outreach to ensure that recommendations are heard and acted upon. 

As a way forward, participants urged the government of Bangladesh to prioritise: 

• Reforming legal aid to ensure it is accessible for women with disabilities, culturally relevant for Indigenous communities, and available in local languages. 

• Expanding safe shelter options for survivors in rural, conflict-affected, and remote areas such as tea gardens and the hill districts. 

• Increasing public awareness campaigns so that women know their rights and how to access services. 

• Strengthening collaboration between government institutions, civil society, and community organisations to ensure prevention as well as response.