In the Dhaka courts, over the last 14 years, the disposal rate of rape cases stands at about 46%, while the conviction rate is an appalling 0.77%.
Of the 2,057 cases disposed in the five courts of Dhaka that hold rape trials, the accused were convicted of a crime in only 16.
Reporting of rape is already quite low in Bangladesh, as victims and their families fear social stigma and persecution.
There are five Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals in Dhaka which are designated to deal with various sexual violence cases, including rapes.
The tribunals were formed through a law in 2001 and began handling cases in 2003.
Court insiders say failure of the prosecution to prove the charges for different reasons including failure to produce witnesses is a major cause of this low conviction rate.
Flawed investigations, non-compliance with due procedure in filing cases and the lengthy process of case disposal are also reasons behind the situation.
The five tribunals have received 4,436 rape cases for trial so far between 2003 and 2016.
Of the cases, 475 were received in 2016, 383 in 2015, 928 in 2014, 340 in 2013, 271 in 2012, 241 in 2011, 183 in 2010, 228 in 2009, 296 in 2008, 302 in 2007, 178 in 2006, 182 in 2005, 174 in 2004 and 255 in 2003.
Of the 4,436 rape cases, a total of 2,057 cases were disposed off by the courts.
Also, except for Dhaka, the medical tests are not that available in the country. The numbers of forensic experts is few. As a result, the tests do not always get the right information. Moreover, the trial process is sometimes lengthy. Frustrated victims and their family members lose hope, in some incidents are threatened and go for a settlement
Lawyers say they find it hard to prove charges in the absence of proper evidence and witnesses. Many of their clients agree to withdraw charges in the middle of the trial after making informal settlements with the accused persons.
A girl child from the capital’s Rampura who was nine years old and a student of class 3 was raped by a neighbour on August 17, 2012.
Her mother filed a case accusing the man the next day, with the Rampura Police Station.
The victim in her statement before a magistrate said that the accused, who she used to address as a maternal uncle, locked her in a common bathroom the two families shared and raped her.
Family members and locals caught the accused red-handed and handed him over to the police. He got bail from the High Court after more than a year.
The One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital conducted her physical examination, secondary sexual characteristics, radiological and microbiological tests and stated that the girl was raped.
However, in the same month in August 2012, the victim’s mother in an affidavit submitted before the court claimed that the case was filed wrongly. Her child was not raped.
After two months, the investigation officer submitted a charge sheet before the court accusing the alleged rapist. The court framed charges in June 2013.
The accused person’s family members also lodged a prayer to acquit him from the charges in June, 2013.
After the trial started, no one came to testify. Even the complainant did not appear. A police report said they had left the rented house two or three years ago.
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BigstockFinally, the court disposed of the case acquitting the accused on June 14, 2017.
Defense lawyer Malay Saha said the two parties went for a personal settlement.
He however, would not say if there was an exchange of money or favour behind the scenes between the parties.
Another example of a long delayed case is where an 18-year-old girl living in Mirpur was raped in 2003.
The girl, a garments worker who came to Dhaka from Khulna and stayed at her brother-in-law’s family, was gang-raped by eight men.
The rapists were local goons and picked the girl up at night at gunpoint from her house, also stabbing her brother-in-law.
Following a case, police submitted a charge sheet before the court in July, 2003. All the accused were arrested during the course of the trial.
Twelve years on and the accused are appearing before the court on every trial date. But the victim and her family have disappeared. No witnesses came to testify.
The court issued summons and non-bailable warrants to the complainant but they did not come.
Police do not have any idea where the family has gone and why they did not appear before the court.
Contacted, Md Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s criminal intelligence and prosecution, said that 97% of rape charges cannot be proved.
“I think public prosecutors can explain this,” he said.
Admitting the fact, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court’s Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu said that in many cases plaintiffs do not come to testify.
“We cannot do anything when an out-of-court settlement takes place,” he added.
However, Md Forkan Miah, special public prosecutor of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 4, claimed that police are also to blame as they fail to produce witnesses and sometimes submit faulty charge sheets.
“There are also instances of forged medical reports by some corrupt doctors,” he claimed.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Advocate Salma Ali of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association said that many victims do not register a case or continue the legal fight as under the law the victim herself needs to prove the allegations.
“Also, except for Dhaka, the medical tests are not that available in the country. The numbers of forensic experts is few. As a result, the tests do not always get the right information,” she said.
“The trial process is sometimes lengthy. Frustrated victims and their family members lose hope, in some incidents are threatened and go for a settlement,” she added.
