LOW conviction rate in cases related to gender-based violence has been a public concern, which a study by the Supreme Court and BRAC reconfirms. The study has analysed 4,040 cases across 32 districts and found that only 3 per cent of the cases of violence against women and children resulted in conviction while 70 per cent ended in acquittal and 13 per cent were settled outside court. The study shows a severe case backlog, with nearly 1.51 lakh cases pending, more than 42,000 unresolved for more than five years and trial taking an average of 1,370 days despite legal provisions for a speedy disposal. It has identified weak investigation, poor evidence collection, procedural delays and the lack of victim-sensitive measures as major barriers to justice. While the scale and scope of the study are expansive, its findings are hardly surprising. Women’s rights organisations have for long pointed to the procedural weaknesses and inherent patriarchal bias within the legal system and society at large that continue to obstruct justice for survivors of violence.
The enactment of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 and the establishment of specialised tribunals meant to ensure expeditious trials and punishment within 180 days have largely remained ineffective. The arrest of a suspect in the rape and murder of college student Sohagi Jahan Tanu a decade after the crime illustrates this failure. In March 2025, the Bangladesh Judicial Services Association, an organisation of lower court judges, urged the authorities to immediately establish at least 200 more women and children repression (prevention) tribunals to ensure the speedy trial of cases related to gender-based violence. The country relies primarily on the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and a smaller DNA facility under the Criminal Investigation Department, with only limited screening facilities in divisional medical colleges. There are 14 one-stop crisis centres located mainly in medical college hospitals alongside 67 one-stop crisis cells running in district hospitals and upazila health complexes to provide support for survivors of violence. But most of the victims, supported by the centres or their family, do not file cases. In this context, women’s rights organisations have demanded an effective mechanism to ensure that legal proceedings are completed within the stipulated time frame and institutions involved in the process are held accountable for repeated failures in justice delivery.
The government must now address the structural barriers that impede justice in rape cases and identify gaps in the legal and institutional framework, ensuring that the justice process remains accessible to survivors and preventing their re-victimisation during investigation and trial. More importantly, the government must establish accountability mechanisms for the law enforcement agencies and public prosecutors who fail to comply with legal procedures and time frame.
