Leveraging Technology to Safeguard and Empower Survivors of Sexual Abuse
By Tanvir Hassan Zoha
Rape in Bangladesh is not the result of an inescapable biological urge; it is the product of power, impunity, and a culture that often protects the perpetrator rather than the survivor. If sexual violence were simply a “biological inevitability,” every man would be a rapist. Reality tells a different story — and it tells us this is a preventable crime.
Yet, the statistics are staggering: around 90% of rape and sexual harassment cases in Bangladesh go unreported. This chronic underreporting is not a minor data gap; it is the single most powerful tool in the hands of offenders. Perpetrators act with the confidence that the victim will stay silent, the family will avoid the police, and the system will fail to deliver justice.
Leveraging Technology for Safety and Support
In parallel with legal and institutional reforms, Bangladesh must harness technology to protect and assist survivors in real time. Secure mobile applications with SOS alerts, geo-fencing, and direct police connectivity can serve as an immediate lifeline in emergencies. AI-powered CCTV analytics can help monitor high-risk areas, while blockchain-based evidence storage can ensure tamper-proof preservation of digital and forensic proof. A confidential online reporting platform — integrated with trained responders and counselors — can encourage victims to report without fear of stigma. When deployed nationally, these tools can make prevention, response, and justice faster, more reliable, and survivor-centered.
Why Victims Remain Silent
The reasons for non-reporting are deeply embedded in social attitudes and institutional shortcomings. Victims are often blamed for the assault, branded as “immoral,” and subjected to public shaming. Trials are painfully slow, conviction rates are low, and harmful myths about rape — such as “good women are not raped” or “a woman’s clothing provoked the assault” — persist across society.
Moral policing is another enabler. When survivors are vilified for their lifestyle choices — whether going to the cinema, traveling with friends, or dressing a certain way — the message is clear: society will judge you before it judges your attacker. This silence, reinforced by shame, becomes the predator’s shield.
The Scale of the Crisis
Bangladesh has, over time, created a legal framework that imposes harsh penalties for rape, including the death penalty. But without reporting, investigation, and conviction, these laws remain symbolic. The lack of infrastructure to handle cases is equally alarming: the entire judiciary has fewer than 1,800 judges for a population of over 180 million, and only two operational DNA labs serve the entire country.
What Must Change — Now
Bangladesh’s fight against rape cannot be won with sporadic outrage and symbolic punishment. It requires a multi-sectoral, state-led approach:
1. Establish a National Commission with legal authority to recommend reforms in law, education, media, and law enforcement.
2. Expand the judiciary by appointing 2,000 new judges and creating specialized rape trial courts.
3. Form a specialized, gender-sensitive police unit trained in forensic collection, victim counseling, and management of a national sex offenders database.
4. Reform legal definitions to include object penetration as rape, clarify “rape by deception,” and criminalize online grooming of minors.
5. Invest in forensic capacity with DNA labs in every divisional city and adequate staffing.
The Budgetary Question
The combined annual budget for Bangladesh’s judiciary is less than the construction cost of a single urban flyover. If the nation can build highways and bridges, it can fund the safety and dignity of half its population. Ending rape culture is not a matter of resources — it is a matter of political will.
The Call to Action
The government must lead this change. Not with reactive measures or public spectacle, but with structural reforms that protect survivors, deter offenders, and dismantle the culture of silence. We face a choice: more concrete and steel, or a society where women and girls live free from fear.
The cost of inaction will be measured not in money, but in lives irreparably damaged.
