Impunity, declining moral values behind child rapes in Bangladesh: Experts

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Last May a 10-year-old in the remote northern district of Rangpur in Bangladesh was raped and murdered, allegedly by a close neighbor.

The accused rapist, Raja Mia, buried the body of the girl, who was killed after the assault.

Police recovered the girl's body a day later, shocking the country with the harrowing scene of her remains.

According to a new study, the weakening of formerly deep-seated moral and religious values, as well as the impunity that many perpetrators have enjoyed over the years, are prompting child rape cases in Bangladesh at an alarming level.

The study recorded 818 child rape cases in 2021 – up nearly 31% from the previous year, which registered 626 cases.

It found that many of the child victims had been raped by neighbors or family acquaintances, while adolescents tended to fall prey to love traps.

The Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), one of the country's largest rights groups, released the report on Feb. 22, based on the coverage of the country's eight leading daily newspapers.

Executive Director Shaheen Anam said the surge in child rape was "very alarming" and underlined the long-prevailing culture of impunity for criminals in Bangladesh as a prime cause.

Anam told Anadolu Agency that in a previous study, the MJF had found that 15 convicted rapists in 25 cases had been bailed out in a short time through various legal loopholes and bribes.

According to a police report submitted to the country's High Court last March, the previous five years had seen 26,695 rape cases filed in the South Asian country.

- Weakening moral values

The prevalence of Internet pornography and other indecent content on social media platforms instigate people towards sexual crimes, Zia Rahman, a professor of criminology based in the capital Dhaka, told Anadolu Agency.

"Our society has changed rapidly and many significant norms and moral values have been destroyed with the development of the so-called modernization. Social harmony, family bonds, and sound cultural practices have been weakened, resulting in a change in our psyche," said Rahman, who is also the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Dhaka.

According to a survey held earlier this month by the Aachol Foundation, a local mental health group, 84.1% of young women have experienced sexual harassment on buses or at bus stops, which are the most commonly used mode of public transport in Bangladesh.

Referring to child rape as a "very sensitive" issue, Rahman, suggested one way to fight against it would be to ensure that authorities charged with curbing crimes are held accountable for their failures.

"Not only rape, but all sorts of crimes can be reduced to a significant level if the culture of impunity to criminals is brought to an end and moral values are established," he said.

- Need for proper policing

Leena Begum, a teacher at a public primary school who teaches several hundred children every year and deals with guardians, told Anadolu Agency that the real number of child rape cases must be higher as many victims hide in fear of social stigma and harassment by corrupt police.

"In most cases, the rapists are economically and politically stronger than the victims and so, victims' guardians very often keep silent, fearing that by leaking the incident, their children's future might be compromised," said Begum, who said corrupt police officials often demand bribes to pursue a case.

Anam also alleged that police do not submit timely investigation reports in most rape cases delaying them in an effort to collect as many bribes as possible from both rapists and victims.

"In the regard of poor families, guardians have no ability to continue rape cases and maintain a lawyer as police very often make the whole process complicated so that it takes a huge amount of time to complete judicial procedures and the poor guardians of the victims fail to continue attending the cases in the courts," she said.

Police, however, say officials provide "all-out" support for rape victims.

The deputy commissioner of the Women Support and Investigation Division of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they "receive complaints and ensure 100% support to the victims round the clock every day."

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Hamida Parveen said anyone could contact authorities through mobile phones, a hotline, or social media.

She added that whenever authorities receive a tip-off, officials take action immediately to rescue victims.

"We also have arrangements to shelter the victims during their critical period of mental trauma," she said.

"We provide them food, medical treatment, counseling for mental support, and legal assistance," Parveen added, underlining that they often got complaints from expatriates working abroad, as well, asking them to assist them in their case.

No woman, girl, or guardian should feel shame if they or their loved ones are the victims of sexual crimes, she said, urging them to contact authorities immediately.