They said there must be a strong legislative platform where women can seek justice against the crime.

The existing laws are not enough to deal with different forms of domestic violence, they added.

The national consultation titled 'Combating domestic violence: The way forward' was held at the Brac Centre Inn in the city.

Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) organised the consultation on the eve of the second phase of its programme 'Combating Domestic Violence' with the support of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).

In her welcome speech, BNWLA Executive Director Advocate Salma Ali said like many countries of the world, women in Bangladesh also face violence at home, which is not possible to address within the existing legal framework.

She suggested for such an act that will be able to change the attitude of the society towards domestic violence.

Presenting a keynote paper jointly, Sadrul Hasan Majumder, programme manager, and Advocate Fawzia Karim Firoj, acting president of BNWLA, underscored the need for community mobilisation to check domestic violence.

They said community counselling centres should be established in collaboration with the local governments in both urban and rural areas to address domestic violence.

MJF Director Rina Roy called for ensuring accountability at all levels along with the enactment of a legislative framework to combat domestic violence.

Rangita de Silva, senior adviser to International Programmes of Wellesley Centre for Women, USA said the definition of domestic violence is no longer confined to physical violence, now the term incorporates mental, verbal and sexual torture of women.

She also suggested that the language of the law should be reader-friendly so that all can understand the law easily.

Ferdous Ara, member of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee, said special act should be enacted to eliminate violence against women at all levels.

She urged the authorities concerned to take strong stance against domestic violence like the ongoing anti-corruption drive.

She also called for taking initiatives to train up other stakeholders to combat domestic violence.

Nasrin Begum, joint secretary to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Maleka Begum, visiting professor of women studies department, and Prof Sadeka Halim of social science department at Dhaka University also spoke on the occasion.