A SURGE in violence against children, including rape and murder, questions the state’s safeguards for children’s safety. The rape and murder of a minor girl in Dhaka that took place on May 19 has again brought to the fore weaknesses in the child protection system, prompting rights groups to condemn such violence against children. Rights groups list the lengthy judicial process and weak investigation as major obstacles to justice for the victims, which they say have taken the issue this far. Ain O Salish Kendra, in a statement, which blames the weaknesses, notes that such incidents of violence push families of the victims into deep grief and insecurity for which they lose confidence in the justice delivery system. The statement says that at least 118 children were raped, 46 faced rape attempts and 17 were murdered after rape and attempted rape in January-May 20. It is generally viewed that the figures that come up do not adequately reflect the happenings as such incidents remain unreported or under-reported. Many survivors are thought to be avoiding filing complaints because of social stigma, family pressure and a declining confidence in the justice delivery system. Delay in proceedings and a low conviction rate are the problems prompting under-reporting.
The organisation, which says that the failure to ensure children’s safety does not only reflect a legal failure but also questions the moral and humane standing of the state, notes that every incident of child abuse and murder should be given the highest priority in judicial proceedings to ensure an expeditious resolution aimed at preventing such incidents. The Rape Law Reform Coalition, in a statement, has condemned the recent violence against children and demanded an expeditious and impartial trial and early legal action. The organisation has urged the authorities to take stringent and effective measures to ensure justice for victims to end the recurrence of such violence. Many, however, believe that relevant laws are adequate to end the abuse and murder of children only if they are properly put to work. Yet, the laws could be amended if there is the need. But the authorities first need to attend to a few issues that hold back the trial proceedings in such cases and hold the cases from ending in conviction. A recent research suggests that the conviction rate in cases of violence against women and children is only 3 per cent. Whilst delayed proceedings, especially against the backdrop of a huge backlog of cases, are a problem, the absence of a witness protection mechanism also adds to the failure. All this, in turn, adds to the culture of impunity.
The government must, therefore, attend to the issues to ensure the safety of children and women and end violence against them.
