Expedite justice in all child abuse cases

The verdict in the brutal rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa Akter, delivered within 19 days of the incident, has undoubtedly set a judicial record in Bangladesh, where most cases of violence against women and children take an average of four years to be resolved. On Sunday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Violence Suppression Tribunal sentenced the convicts, Sohel Rana and Swapna Khatun, to death and fined them, with the money payable to the victim’s legal heirs. While the sentencing provided some closure to Ramisa’s family, the judge’s remarks during verdict delivery brought to the fore an uncomfortable truth about our legal and justice system: it is the inefficiency and delay within the system that have failed hundreds of other child victims like Ramisa.

The special tribunal, which delivered the verdict in four working days after the case went to trial, is currently burdened with more than 1,800 pending cases of violence against children, sexual and physical abuse, and other such crimes. There have been instances of decades-long wait for justice, where child rape survivors have grown into adults, spent years in safe homes, yet justice has remained elusive. Often caused by legal loopholes, weak investigations, absent witnesses, victim and witness intimidation, and overburdened prosecution systems, such delays embolden perpetrators. As a result, even the death penalty for rape, introduced in 2020, has not proven a strong enough deterrent against crimes targeting women and children. As evident in data compiled by Ain O Salish Kendra, at least 40 girls aged 7-12 years were raped in just the first four months of 2026. In 2025, 148 girls in the same age group were raped, 63 in 2024, and 58 in 2023.

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Enough is enough. Time to take strong action against child sexual abuse

This epidemic of violence against children cannot be addressed through a single instance of swift justice. The Asiya rape and murder case in 2025, which sparked nationwide outrage and was disposed of by the trial court within 73 days of the case being filed, illustrates this point. Numerous rape and murder cases have since been filed with the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, but how many have been disposed of within the 90-day timeline set by the revised law?

Moreover, the legal process does not end at the trial court. Convicts have the right to appeal, and High Court confirmation is required in death penalty cases. Even in Asiya’s case, the sentence of perpetrator Hitu Sheikh has not been carried out more than a year after the trial court verdict, as the mandatory death reference remains pending before the High Court. In this context, we welcome the chief justice’s decision to establish a dedicated High Court bench to hear death references and appeals in cases involving crimes against women and children. However, a child should not have to lose their life or childhood, and spark nationwide outrage, for the justice system to function properly. From investigation to trial, the gaps within this legal framework must be addressed so that the impunity created by delayed justice is eliminated.