Stern law, changing attitude a must to prevent violence against women

Findings of a study on violence against women conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and another joint research of ActionAid Bangladesh and Jatiya Nari Nirjatan Pratirodh Forum (JNNPF) are quite shocking.

Women are the victims of the worst forms of violence at their own home, found both the studies. According to the UNODC study, some 87,000 women were killed in 2017 across the world. Of them, 58 per cent were murdered by their partners or family members.

Two-thirds of the violence against women occurred inside the family in Bangladesh, show ActionAid Bangladesh and JNNPF’s research data. Also, about 97 per cent of the complaints lodged by the victims do not reach the court or they are declared null and void if they are heard.

The findings that the three organisations revealed have made us concerned. Home is supposed to be the safest place for anyone. At the end of the day, people return to their home and family. People find satisfaction in sharing joys and sorrows with the family members. What else could be worse, if a woman is abused by their own family members?

In our country, the oppressors are generally men. The latest survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on violence against women has found that 80 per cent of married women are tortured in some ways, mostly by their husbands.

There are several laws and policies for preventing oppression and violence against women in Bangladesh. However, it seems that those laws and policies are of no use.

It is obvious that violence against women cannot be stopped just by framing laws as the main problem is the negative attitude of the society towards women.

There are common attitude in our society that women are weak and do not have smarts. They are assumed to be commodity and are meant to cook and raise their children.

Women will be oppressed until the attitude changes and it has to be changed. For this, the government will have to undertake public awareness building programmes. At the same time, the law must be enforced. The perpetrators must be brought to book.

According to the findings of ActionAid Bangladesh and JNNPF, four out of five cases of violence against women in the country take two years to be taken to the court. Then the judicial process begins. We have to take initiatives to overcome such problems.