Victim blaming continues to shield perpetrators of gender violence

Infographic: TBS

It is common to witness, right after any news of rape, sexual violence or harassment sees the cursed light of social media, the immediate reaction of the moral police behind their dirty keyboards – blaming women for dressing a certain way, being outside, using their voices, or simply existing in a way that does not fit their ideology.

The notion of violence against women becoming a "women's issue" instead of the obvious perpetrator in each case has been getting away with the cases because society is focused more on how they can blame the victims. 

On 1 March, a confrontation in Dhaka's Lalmatia took a violent turn when a 60-year-old man allegedly assaulted two female students for sitting and smoking at a tea stall's footpath seating. Witnesses say he used slurs and later physically attacked one of the girls after she threw tea at him in retaliation. 

The man claimed the girls were smoking marijuana, a claim they denied. A mob of 10-12 men joined in the assault, slapping and punching the girls while also recording the incident. According to a Facebook post, the attackers forcibly deleted live videos from the girls' phones even after police had arrived.

Instead of questioning why a grown man has raised his hands on two young girls with whom he has no connection, everyone on social media and around the two girls was busy questioning why the two girls were smoking, when no man of any age is ever asked why they smoke in public places.

"This is the normalisation of a misogynistic discourse. Not long ago, a man who harassed a girl at Dhaka University was bailed out with a garland over his head. This alone sends a strong message to society," said Rezwana Karim Snigdha, associate professor of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University.    

She explained that when misogynists like him are endorsed by certain communities and the state remains silent, while the victim's identity is exposed, it creates an environment where women begin to believe they should not step outside. 

Victim blaming is a practice that has always been deep rooted in our culture, if a marriage breaks no matter the reason behind it, a woman is looked down upon because she could not "save" her marriage, if a woman or girl of any age is catcalled in public, the first question is what was the length of their clothes.

"The goal is to reduce women's visibility. There is a political agenda at play here: to discipline women, especially empowered women of all ages. This form of discipline is part of a larger narrative rooted in male patriarchal dominance," the professor added.

In 2018, when Shafat Ahmed, the son of Apan Jewellers owner, was accused of raping two private university students, public discourse swiftly shifted to dissecting the victims' photos from parties.

The conversation derailed into a "moral" debate about their lifestyle, rather than focusing on the crime itself. Consent remains a misunderstood concept for a significant portion of the population.

This societal tendency to morally police victims rather than confront perpetrators feeds into the illusion that women are the problem and that if they dressed "right," behaved "modestly," or stayed "indoors," none of this would happen. But the facts betray that myth. 

Women who follow all those "rules" still face harassment and violence. That's because the problem is not with the victim, it's with the harasser.

Additionally, working women and girls are experiencing different types of violence, but not reported. Because they don't believe in privacy, safety, security and ethical ground of reporting and communication pathway.  

The government, law enforcement, judiciary, and media must begin with the basics: confidential reporting tools, believe victims, punish perpetrators, and stop enabling violence through silence, negligence, or misguided moral codes. 

Victim blaming has become a secondary habit of Bangladeshi society, and they are years overdue in changing this mentality, because enabling the criminal's behaviour and questioning the victim will only continue this vicious cycle of violence against women.

This article has been produced in association with Badabon Sangho.