Every case of sexual abuse should enrage us

Reports of serious human rights abuses overload the media daily, but perhaps no section of our society suffers as much abuse as women and children. They are not only unsafe in public but also in their own homes and in the company of relatives. The latest data from rights organisation Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) also validate this. The organisation found that at least 305 women and girls faced violence in May, up from 294 in April. In particular, rape cases rose to 83 last month, from 68 in April. Alarmingly, nearly 70 percent of the survivors and victims were aged under 18 years. Family-related violence left 63 women dead and 31 injured in May.

The HRSS report also highlights that six victims had died after rape. One of them was the eight-year-old schoolgirl in Dhaka’s Pallabi, who was raped and then brutally killed by a neighbour on May 19. The incident sparked massive public outcry. Even the prime minister visited the grieving family and assured them that authorities would assist the court to ensure a speedy trial. Therefore, it would not be unfair to say that the strong public reaction prompted the authorities to take swift action to ensure justice. After all, the verdict on this case is set to be delivered today, less than three weeks after the child was murdered. But this raises the question: would we be seeing such a speedy trial if the child’s case had not received the public outcry it did?

In the Pallabi case, the victim’s father reportedly told the PM that his daughter suffered what she did because they were living in an unsafe environment, in response to which the PM assured him that better living arrangements would be ensured for the family. While it would be a much bigger task to carry out, we urge authorities to ensure that all children, irrespective of where they live, grow up in a safe environment. Children’s safety must not be tied to social class, income, or locality.

Given the dire human rights situation across the country, the government must amplify its efforts to prevent abuse effectively.  We also urge that laws and due procedures are evenly applied to all cases of sexual abuse against women and children, regardless of how widely discussed (or even dismissed) the incidents are on social media. The current atmosphere of fear that women and children live under in our country is unacceptable. Only consistent, decisive action from authorities can offer people the basic sense of safety that they so acutely lack.