A group of women who formed an alliance called ‘Feminists Across Generations’ or FemGen on Monday lambasted the police and the media for mishandling the recent case of rape and murder of an O Level student in Dhaka’s Kalabagan.
Since the gruesome incident made headlines, the group regretted that there has been widespread victim-blaming from almost all members and institutions of society –parents, teachers, and young people.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” said the Feminists Across Generations, in a statement. “We are angry and we demand answers; as parents we want a safe country for our children,” they insisted.
The women’s alliance pointed out that people are ‘asking why the child victim trusted a friend, why she went to a friend’s house, or why the girl’s parents allowed her to be out’, instead of asking ‘why the police did not cooperate with the victim’s family’, and ‘why there is lack of transparency in the case process’.
“We want an end to this victim blaming that pushes survivors into silence, makes it difficult for them to get justice and allows rape culture to perpetuate,” reads the statement.
The group said they are particularly disturbed by the media for disclosing the victim’s identity and pushing forward narratives that put the onus on women to save themselves. “We demand that the media outlets maintain strict standards and guidelines when it comes to sexual violence reporting.”
The FemGen referred to a 2015 national survey which found that 45 per cent women aged over 15 years feared facing sexual violence at their husbands’ home, 32 per cent in workspaces, 18 per cent on the roads, 13 per cent in education institutes and 10 per cent in healthcare facilities.
“This begs the question, where are women safe in this country?” the women alliance stated.
“We urge, once again, for educational institutions to introduce comprehensive sexuality education and we urge parents to discuss openly with their children, especially their sons, about consent and emphasise that no means no,” the group added.
“We demand that families hold their boys and men accountable for any and all violence they perpetrate.”