Victims have benefited, though not to the extent it was expected, from the government's initiative launched in 2017 to seek immediate assistance and report violence against women and children .
Earlier, a victim had to go to the police station for redressal of torture. But now the victim does not have to go to police station in person to seek immediate help and file complaint. After receiving a call on the emergency number 999, the police come to the spot, investigate and take due measures.
Since its launch on 12 December 2017 till October this year, 999 has recorded complaints from 72 areas, including 64 districts and 8 cities in five years. There are calls for immediate help and complaints for abuse of women and children from all over the country. Police received about 42,000 such calls on 999 in the past five years.
Among them, most of the complaints were received from Dhaka. More than 10,000 calls have been received from Dhaka district asking for immediate help and complaining about 12 types of torture in the last five years, which is 24 per cent of the total calls to 999 from all over the country. About 20 per cent of these calls are from Dhaka city. In five years, the least number of calls, only 170, have been received in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban.
The complaints include murder, torture by spouse, parents or for dowry, molestation and sexual harassment, rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and acid-violence. Many of these complaints are limited to requests for immediate help, most of which do not lead to lawsuits. Among the complaints, there are about 10,500 cases of torture by the wives against their husbands, 5,000 cases of molestation and sexual harassment, and about 3,000 cases of rape.
It has been witnessed that the cases of seeking immediate assistance and making complaints are relatively high in big cities including Dhaka and Chattogram. This is because women outside Dhaka, especially in remote areas, are not aware of the facility. According to Nasima Akhter, secretary of the National Girl Child Advocacy Forum, the actual violence against women is much higher than that. Rural areas lag behind urban areas regarding the awareness about reporting torture. Many torture cases end in arbitration.
People outside the city, especially in the remote areas, should be made more aware of the facility. Local administration can play a leading role, similarly the publicity can be done using information technology.
Many government organisations send messages by mobile phone about their routine activities and and observance of special days. This medium can also be used to mobilise awareness about calling emergency numbers in case of violence against women and children.
However, calling on 999 only is not enough to prevent violence against women and children. The law must be allowed to take its own course in order for the victim to receive justice.
We often find law ineffective against the powerful and rich. To prevent violence against women and children, social awareness should be created along with appropriate punishment for the perpetrators.