We want higher convictions in rape cases
In the wake of protests over the ever-escalating number of rape incidents in the country, the government has decided to amend the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, to make death sentence the highest punishment for committing rape. While we appreciate that the government wants to show zero tolerance towards rapists, we are worried that such a move, taken without due critical consideration of the implications, may actually deter suspected criminals from being convicted. The impunity enjoyed by rapists in this country is not due to the fact that Bangladesh does not have a high punishment for rape—currently the highest punishment afforded is life imprisonment—but that rapists are convicted in only three percent of the cases.
Researchers have, in fact, argued that there is an inverse relationship between the severity of punishment and conviction rates—the higher the punishment, the lower the conviction rate, as judges are less willing to pass down harsh verdicts, particularly in rape cases, where it is difficult, in the absence of a witness, to prove without a benefit of the doubt that the survivor was raped. Additionally, archaic rape and evidence laws puts the survivor, rather than the perpetrator, on trial. It is these outdated laws which need to be reformed in line with human rights standards on an urgent basis to ensure protection to victims and survivors of sexual violence.
The Reform Law Reform Coalition, comprising 17 women's and human rights organisations, have identified existing gaps in the legal and institutional framework that prevent justice for rape victims/ survivors, and laid down 10 proposals for reform. These are: Reform rape laws in line with human rights standards; broaden the definition of rape to make it non-discriminatory; define penetration to cover all forms of rape; allow proportionality of punishment and introduce sentencing guidelines; ensure justice process is accessible to rape survivors with disabilities; prohibit use of character evidence against rape survivors; enact Witness Protection Law; establish a state compensation fund for rape survivors; hold gender-sensitisation training for justice sector actors; and introduce consent classes in schools.
We strongly believe that these are the reforms that the government, as well as the protestors, need to focus on. Instituting the death penalty, without addressing any of the root causes of the problem or the gaps in the existing legal framework, will only make it that much more dangerous and difficult for women to pursue and prove cases in court.
We simply cannot afford to be so short-sighted in our demands for justice. If the government wants to show zero tolerance towards rapists, it can do so by ensuring that its administration and law enforcement does not, ever again, provide protection to rapists, and that any allegations of rape in any political party is met with the strictest of measures.
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