DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HITHERTO INVASIVE

Domestic Violence hitherto Invasive

Violence against women is a century old social menace. At present time, it has been occurring so brutal, cruel and inhumane. And the domestic Violence is happening as an everyday substance of women’s lives of Bangladesh as well as in the whole world. Though, Bangladesh has attained many successes during the years but the violence against women is still extreme among which domestic violence remaining widely prevalent in urban and rural areas both.

In 2006, a study conducted by ICDDRB indicated that 04 types domestic violence occur in the country- 1. Violence physically 2. Violence psychologically 3. Violence economically and 4. Violence sexually where 60% violence takes place at home. 93% victims said they experienced physical violence and only 13% victims having sexual violence and 91% victims of economic violence, 84% physical violence committed by their husbands. 40% ever married women of urban areas and 42% of rural areas became victim of physical violence and also 50% sexual violence held rural areas and 37% in urban areas by their husbands unfortunately.

However, the impact of domestic violence against women often focuses to social and health side because it generally creates social instability, insecurity and gender inequality. But the economic impact remains unseen mostly. Domestic violence costs 2.05% loss of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh worth around Taka 15 crore annually studied by CARE Int’l.

The Government has passed a law named as “Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Acts-2010 but it’s yet to frame a set of rules for the effective implementation. There are other numbers of complete laws against rape, acid violence; dowry, trafficking etc are existed in the country. But question is how much victims are getting justice. It’s remarkable that in Bangladesh, average conviction rate is not more than 15-20% where as in Japan this rate is 99.7%, in USA 88%, even in India it is 41.7%. This lowest rate of conviction of the country encourages the culprits to do crimes against women.

The most unfortunate incidents are happened to the fate of victims after rape occurrence. The burden of proof of rape lies upon the victim and she has to prove how she was raped, when and by whom. Under the existing rules of criminal justice system, the rape victim has to preserve the signs of rape and it used to examine by a male doctor, interview again and again by police officers and the case in trial cross-examine indecently by male advocates. E.g. the Damani (victim of Dheli bus rape incident) had to narrate her incident of rape to police officers at least 10 times before death. It means, a girl and or a woman become raped first physically and respectively raped for second time in the court by male Advocates, third time by the society. Similarly the victims for other violent occurrences are supposed to proof by her! Therefore to stay away from unbearable harassment and social stigma, some rape victims commit suicide, some become mentally disturbed because of existing procedure to prove. A 14 years old school girl of Tangail of Bangladesh became victim of rape brutally and she used to scream at the sight of any male person while lying in her bed at hospital!!!

A study conducted on 2011 by ICDDRB across the border of Bangladesh as got as 77% urban and 81% rural men believes that it’s their right to force women into having sex. Sexual violence is deeply rooted in the ideologies of male sexual entitlement as men believe’ women cannot refuse sex with their husband’, and ‘men need sex more than women do’, ‘women who have been raped are in part to blame’. On the other hand, 45% urban and 54% rural men who believe that when a woman is raped, she is usually to be blamed for putting herself in that situation. And 89% urban and 75% rural men believe that if a woman does not fight back, it is not rape.

A recent study on the prevalence of domestic violence suffered by the nurses at AIIMS (The All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Delhi, showed that close to 60% of the nurses were subject to some form of domestic violence. The study states that physical and sexual violence affects the nurses’ physical and mental health and leads to an inability to concentrate, loss of confidence in their ability and inability to work. ‘Over half of the study subjects (56.7 per cent) reported that physical or sexual violence affected their overall well-being. Being slapped was the most common act of physical violence (40 per cent), 18.86 per cent nurses were physically abused while pregnant. Worse, 45.8 per cent of the physically abused victims were kicked/beaten when pregnant’.
Sorry to say, when an U.S. based women’s organization ‘WOMEN DELIVER’ organization does joke by privileging a rapist like J. S. Kurien an Indian parliamentarian whom accused in the gang rape case of a 16 years old girl who kidnapped in the town of Suryanelli, held hostage and raped by 42 men over 40 days. The victim had been ‘sold’ to 42 men and when she was found, she was so battered and had lost so much blood the doctors said, a few more days and she’d be dead! It’s beyond thought that the accused rapist (Kurien) of the Suryanelli case was invited to speak at WOMEN DELIVER’s on May 2013 conference on women’s reproductive empowerment where Melinda Gates, Hilary Clinton, Babatunde Osotimehin (head of the U.N. Population Fund),Helen Clark ( head of the U.N. Development Fund), Chelsea Clinton who work in the field of women's empowerment!!!!

Kurien’s invitation by Women Deliver is not only a massive humiliation for the Indian feminist movement, but it is a mocking of the enormity of the challenge that women are facing across the globe. Following to the above circumstances of women of this region and the controversial role of Int’l organization of the world, how women can see the dream to live to an equitable earth.

NO OWE, NO APOLOGY, JUSTICE AND JUSTICE.