Rapists must be punished

News on rape incidents has become an everyday thing. Such horrific crimes have become far too common in our society. The increased frequency of rape incidents should compel us to rethink our social structure and moral and value system which are fast eroding.

According to Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), in the first six months of this year, at least 496 children were raped and many among them were killed in cold blood right after. These statistics show us how brutal we have become as a society. The actual number of rape incidents, however, is much higher but they do not come to light due to reasons such as underreporting, lack of police records and fear among victims to take action against perpetrators because of the attitudes of stigma prevalent in our society and because victims fear retaliation.

The number of such incidents can be reduced through the effective implementation of laws and ensuring punishment of the offenders. Rape cases should be solved on a priority basis. In addition, increasing social awareness, encouraging victims to lodge complaints against rapists and making it compulsory for law enforcers to deal with such cases with the highest priority are some ways through which we can tackle this societal sickness head on. Moral education and ethics should also be incorporated in our education curricula.

Akmal Hossain, University of Dhaka