Bangladesh has made great strides in development terms in the last decade. Falling child mortality and population growth rates combined with steady economic growth and the spread of micro-credit all point to steady progress.
But while this is impressive, it has not been matched by improvements in the justice sector, which remains plagued by capacity and procedural issues. This matters because not only is access to justice a fundamental human right, the provision of affordable, accessible justice can help underpin political stability and economic growth.
Women in Bangladesh are particularly disadvantaged by the failings of the justice sector. Violence against women (VAW) here remains a persistent human rights issue, with research suggesting that between 40% and 76% of married women experience violence by their husband during their lifetime.
However, in spite of this alarming statistic, many VAW cases either go unreported or do not make it to court. This is because women’s access to justice is hindered by numerous obstacles, with women facing discriminatory laws and a lack of gender sensitivity in the implementation of law enforcement.
They may also face practical difficulties in seeking legal redress such as a lack of family support, including pressure to deal with problems within the home, or logistical barriers, such as geographical isolation from courts and financial barriers.
The passing of the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act in 2010 was a positive step, but the reality is that in spite of the existence of various legal provisions, many women who are subject to violence are still effectively unable to access a remedy.
The UN and other donors are supporting the government of Bangladesh with a range of interventions to improve justice delivery, as well as wider activity to empower women to overcome gender inequality. Examples of this are projects to increase gender sensitisation in police training and increase the recruitment of female police officers, to activate village courts to dispense quick, affordable justice and to bolster Legal Aid service provision.
Other work is being done to address the backlog of cases in the justice system and to encourage better co-ordination, co-operation, and communication between justice sector institutions. But the truth is that more needs to be done to reform the justice sector and make it more accessible for the most vulnerable in society including women.
To this end, a conference was held on March 15 and 16 to examine the justice sector’s handling of VAW cases. It was attended by the honorable justice minister, the honorable chief justice, and a wide range of senior justice sector professionals.
The conference produced a raft of recommendations for improving the administration of justice and women’s access to it. These included producing better guidelines for frontline professionals dealing with VAW cases, establishing victim support cells in courts, introducing time limits for cases, and providing better protection for witnesses.
Many participants felt that greater awareness of VAW issues among the public was needed with national awareness campaigns, including at educational institutions, being proposed.
The conference provided a valuable forum for airing ideas and it is now incumbent on those who attended, and those they represent, to work in a consensual manner to take forward the recommendations. In particular, there may be low-cost and no-cost steps that can be taken immediately, which can have a quick and real impact.
The task of justice reform is enormous for any country, but it is achievable if there is a focus on specific goals. One of the most important for Bangladesh is to improve access to justice for its women.
