Women feel unsafe to file complaints to police: Speakers

Speakers at a webinar have said most women feel insecure about filing a complaint for harassment to the police.

The victims think that there is no solution with the filing of complaints to the police; rather, it leads to further problems, they said, citing data from studies conducted at various times.

They were addressing a webinar titled "Towards Creating a Future without Violence" organised by ActionAid Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Through this programme, ActionAid Bangladesh inaugurated the 16-day Women's Violence Prevention Week 2020.

Most of women think it is unsafe for a woman victim to file a complaint as she will be implicated as the culprit instead of the real one, speakers also said.

According to another survey, two out of every three cases of violence against women are domestic violence.

At the webinar, two women shared bitter experiences of torture they faced in their lives.

Farida Parveen, from Netrokona, said she had sought help from the police about torture on her.

But the police asked for money from her for filing the case, she alleged.

Another woman from Dhaka's Kalyanpur slum said women who have been abused are now reluctant to file a complaint to the police.

Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kari, a non-government organisation, said the higher authorities of the police should take steps to identify those who are reluctant to take up cases of violence against women.

The laws to prevent violence against women must be properly enforced, she opined.

Sifat-e-Rabban, additional deputy commissioner (women support and investigation division) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, "We have the Women Victims Support Centre run by the Women Police where various types of assistance are provided to the victim women."

A hotline number has been launched to lodge complaints. A Facebook page called Police Cyber ​​Support for Women has been opened to prevent harassment of girls in cyberspace, which is run by women police, she added.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam said, "We have formed a new committee on women and children to address the issue. We are also focusing on what else can be done for them and want everyone's cooperation to this end."

Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said, "We want no more women to be abused."

She called upon all as well as the corporate sector to come forward to prevent violence against women.