FILE PHOTO: Women activists holding bamboo sticks take part in a demonstration in Dhaka on March 9, 2025, condemning rape and violence against women in Bangladesh. — AFP
DHAKA: More than 75 per cent of married Bangladeshi women experience violence from partners at least once in their lifetime, a national survey published Monday (Oct 13) said.
"This report must mark the beginning of transformative action to prevent violence, strengthen services and ensure justice for survivors," said Catherine Breen Kamkong, from the UN Population Fund, UNFPA.
Younger women, aged from 15-19 years, and women from urban slums and disaster-prone coastal regions such as Barisal and Khulna experienced even higher rates, of more than 80 per cent, the survey added.
The survey, carried out by Bangladesh's Bureau of Statistics, backed by UNFPA, interviewed more than 27,000 women countrywide, recording cases of physical, sexual and economic violence, as well as controlling behaviours.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics chief, said the survey provides "robust evidence on the prevalence, causes and impact of violence", saying that was "critical for policy response".
The Violence Against Women survey is the third since 2011, and found a slight decline - with 83 per cent of women questioned reporting violence in 2015.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since an August 2024 uprising overthrew the hardline government of Sheikh Hasina.
The Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people will hold elections in February 2026, the first polls since the mass uprising.
Bangladesh's leading women's rights group has previously reported a dramatic surge in rape cases it blamed on worsening security.
Fauzia Moslem, president of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad group, said in August that the number of sexual assaults in the first six months of 2025 nearly equalled the total for all of last year - a period that also included the deadly protests. - AFP
