Why rape is increasing
Although we are confronted with the news of rape practically every day, it is always a shock when we hear of the actual statistics. Mahila Parishad has found that just last month on average more than seven women had been raped everyday—a record high in a single month since 2010. Even more horrifying is that out of the 232 rape incidents in September, 15 of the victims were murdered after rape and 19 of them were gang-raped. The last statistic indicates that there has been a rise in gang-rapes which demonstrates a growing confidence among these rapists that they will somehow get away with such a heinous crime.
Why have these sexual predators become so emboldened? As we have said ad nauseum in this column that it is the culture of impunity that these perpetrators enjoy that encourages them to carry out these crimes. Many of the perpetrators are in positions of power (in educational institutions for instance), politically well-connected or have enough money to influence the legal process. This paper has reported on how a police high up actually forced a gang-rape victim to marry one of her rapists in order to sweep the case under the carpet. The sheer helplessness of the victims—who are invariably poor, have no one to help them or are in positions of less power than their attackers—make them easy targets. Just yesterday we came to know about a widow and her minor daughter, a sixth grader, from Kushtia, who have been victims of continuous rape by two brothers in their upazila for one whole year! How is it possible for two men to carry out such reprehensible acts for a whole year without any hindrance from the community members or from the law enforcers?
These chilling incidents which are clearly on the rise indicate how little the state and its machinery as well as the communities that these victims belong to have done to stop these crimes. It is appalling that all these victims and many whose ordeals will never be recorded, could not be saved because the perpetrators are so powerful that they believe they can get away with their crimes. Communities and law enforcement agencies must be more protective of women and children who make up the majority of victims so that they can prevent such crimes and in the case they are committed, make sure the rapists are identified and punished under law.
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