No cases filed under Domestic Violence Act in 10 years

The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act was enacted in 2010, but no cases have been filed under the act in the last 10 years in many districts of the country, including Bhola and Sherpur.

This information was revealed in a study commissioned by ActionAid Bangladesh in October, reads a press release.

Discussants elaborated on the issue at a virtual roundtable discussion titled Domestic violence: The Context of Justice and Legal Solutions, jointly organised by the ActionAid Bangladesh and Daily Prothom Alo on Wednesday, in observance of 16 Days of Activism.

This year ActionAid Bangladesh observes 16 days of Activism with the theme of "Stop Violence Against Women, Now!". The campaign runs every year from November 25 — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women — to December 10, which is the Human Rights Day.

Keynote speaker Taslima Yasmin, a faculty member at the Department of Law in Dhaka University, who also led the study, stated that the key difficulty towards the implementation of this act was a lack of awareness among the potential beneficiaries and the law enforcing agencies.

the survivors and lawyers generally prefer more straight forward penal sections, she added. She also mentioned about the under reporting of abuses from the victims of domestic violence until it reached the severe form of physical torture.

Nasima Begum, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said violence against women will never end if women compromise and are not conscious.

"Many of them don't want to file a case thinking about family honour," she added.

Aroma Dutta, MP, said every district needs to have a branch of the Human Rights Commission. She stated that each ministry has a standing committee and it is possible to prevent violence against women by working with development agencies, including the civil society.

In addition to amending the Domestic Violence Act, it is important to provide training to law enforcing agencies, mentioned Supreme Court lawyer Sara Hossain.

Field workers need to be trained and various organisations to provide basic information to the victim about the act, as well as psychosocial counselling to the victim, she added.

Farah Kabir, country director of Action Aid Bangladesh, said the survey was conducted to look into the effectiveness of the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act.

She also sought legal experts' recommendations to make the law more effective. She mentioned that, there should be extensive initiatives in education and training on the Domestic Violence Act.

Among others, Research Initiatives Bangladesh Executive Director Meghna Guhathakurta, Sabalamby Unnayan Samity Manager Kohinoor Begum, Journalist Shahnaz Munni and Special Police Super of Criminal Investigation Department Rumana Akter also spoke at the roundtable.