Gender-based violence (GBV) is not an isolated problem or a side component of life; rather, it is a widespread, tragic, and daily issue that touches and impacts almost everyone's life in some way.
Addressing this crisis requires a deep understanding of its scope, its root causes, the limitations of current interventions, and the necessity of a radical, integrated approach to both prevention and service delivery. Recognizing the potential for societal change can inspire policymakers and stakeholders to commit to long-term solutions.
Defining the scope and impact of GBV
GBV is broadly defined to encompass a multitude of abusive acts. The definition includes spousal abuse or wife battery, which is often seen as a private matter but causes profound societal damage. It also covers sexual violence against women and children, a heinous crime that destroys lives. Beyond physical and sexual violence, GBV includes property grabbing, often targeting widows or women who lack land rights, which compounds their economic vulnerability.
Psychological abuse is also a key component, inflicting invisible but lasting scars. Further, traditional and harmful practices fall under the umbrella of GBV, such as family and child neglect, sexual cleansing, early marriage, and various harmful conventional practices that restrict women's freedom and health.
The consequences of GBV are far-reaching. For women, it increases their vulnerability to reproductive health problems, negatively affects their general well-being, and decreases their ability to participate in their families and communities freely. But the destruction does not end there; GBV also hurts children, men, and families by creating a culture of fear and mistrust that leads to a lack of intimacy and safety within familial and intimate relationships.
At the macro level, communities also bear the negative consequences of GBV, which acts as a drain on the strength and development of micro- and macroeconomic systems, hindering national progress. Critically, this violence is not confined to any specific group; women of all ages, religions, ethnic groups, and economic statuses experience GBV.
The deep roots
Understanding GBV requires acknowledging its entrenched causes. Recent socio-legal research points out that poverty is aggravated by unequal power relations, patriarchy, injustice, and exclusion as key driving factors to women and girls' vulnerability. The deeply rooted nature of the problem is evident in the fact that traditional and widespread societal discrimination against women continues despite legal provisions and interventions designed to regulate abuse, change mental attitudes, and alter perceptions about women.
Furthermore, several practices justified as cultural and customary continue to pose a threat to women's and girls' security and limit justice. These justifications provide a veil of legitimacy for harmful actions, making them difficult to challenge and eradicate.
The findings from cases reported to human rights and legal aid services organizations paint a grim picture of societal acceptance. They indicate that many forms of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence and rape, are seen as usual and are met with approval by both men and women. This normalization can make policymakers and service providers feel a shared responsibility to challenge societal attitudes and foster empathy for survivors.
Progress and pitfalls
At the policy level, there are signs of support for actively addressing GBV. Following the Domestic Violence Act in the legislative history of the country, there is specific legislation with penalties for domestic violence. Our law has shown some progress in preventing and punishing GBV crimes. For instance, the Penal Code and its amendments pose harsh penalties for perpetrators of sexual violence, a necessary punitive measure.
However, the effectiveness of the legal framework is severely hampered by implementation gaps. Practical barriers include a lack of adequate personnel to handle GBV cases, poor facilitation of the police force responsible for initial response, and a total lack of private space for reporting GBV cases by girls and women, which inhibits their ability to come forward safely. Overcoming these barriers requires targeted resource allocation and cultural change initiatives to ensure policies translate into tangible action.
The support system for survivors is equally minimal. Despite reforms, the number and quality of services and resources available to survivors of gender-based violence are alarmingly low. While service providers, including doctors and police, state that they respond to GBV when presented with a case, a critical failing is that there are no protocols for working with survivors. Likewise, little training on proper protocols is available to these service providers, leading to inconsistent and often inadequate care.
Legal aid services, crucial for seeking justice, are often run by small local non-government organizations (NGOs) with limited budgets and are only available in selected places. Even more concerning is the vast and glaring gap in health, counseling, and social welfare services for GBV survivors across the country.
The challenges are compounded by a lack of integration and coordination among major players, which has been identified as a key factor in frustrating justice and effective service delivery. Strengthening these collaborations can reassure policymakers and providers that reforms will lead to tangible improvements for survivors.
The imperative for an integrated and coordinated response
The current challenges underscore the growing need to implement an integrated, linked sectoral response to GBV service delivery. The response to GBV has, in some areas, been channelled through established centres and homes that provide a one-stop service. These one-stop centres aim to deliver medical care, legal aid, temporary accommodation, and psychosocial support for abused girls, women, and a few men.
Cases handled by these centres include physical battering, sexual violence, psychological violence, and severe neglect, as well as traditional and customary forms of violence like early marriages and widow inheritance. The interventions are coupled with initiatives aimed at eliminating sexual GBV through several preventive and restorative initiatives. The preventive initiatives focus on informational, educational, and behavior-change communications, while restorative measures include providing direct support to survivors.
Shifting values
While services are vital, they are insufficient on their own. Preventing GBV requires a significant shift in the values of individuals and communities. Primary prevention strategies recognize that it is essential not only to influence individuals -- women and men experiencing or perpetrating violence -- but also the broader community, which is influential in creating a culture of non-tolerance for violence.
Crucially, without a strong component of primary prevention, service delivery alone will not change the attitudes and behaviours that cause gender-based violence and allow it to continue within the community. Therefore, efforts to prevent GBV must, from the outset, integrate formal or informal services into a broader behaviour change campaign. Furthermore, with the law in place, there is a dire need to sensitize the public to its provisions, recognizing that affected communities must be involved in the process for genuine social change to take place.
The crisis of GBV in Bangladesh is not merely a legal or policing challenge; it is a profound societal failure rooted in inequality and patriarchal norms. Overcoming it demands a comprehensive, integrated strategy that aligns legal enforcement with coordinated medical and psychological support for survivors and, most importantly, a robust, sustained campaign for primary prevention that seeks to fundamentally shift the values and behaviours of the entire community.
Fayazuddin Ahmad is an Advocate, Development professional, and Socio-legal researcher.
