Muradnagar rape: Remove content of incident from online platforms

Cyber Support for Women and Children (CSWC), a rights organisation, in a statement today demanded immediate removal of videos and photos of Cumilla's Muradnagar rape victims from digital platforms in line with the High Court directive and to ensure her privacy.

It welcomed the HC directive saying that it is a positive step towards ensuring the safety of women and children on digital platforms.

CSWC said, "With courage, the woman herself filed a case against the accused Fajar Ali. The Cyber Support for Women and Children appreciates her bravery and sees legal action as an example of women's rights."

"Unfortunately, despite the High Court's directive and reporting on social media, videos and photos of the incident are still online, which is very worrying...," CSWC said in the statement.

The rights body said in Bangladesh, the lack of a reliable framework for the protection of personal information, and the absence of clear guidance on technology-based sexual violence in the existing laws, are preventing victims from securing justice.

In particular, according to Section 14 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, the provision of keeping the identity of the victim secret needs to be implemented effectively.

In this context, CSWC urged the authorities concerned to keep the identity and photographs of victims of any sexual violence, including rape, confidential; not to publish any type of content online without the consent of the victim; to ensure effective legal action against the offenders through strengthening the legal framework for the protection of personal data, formulating separate and clear legal definitions and safeguards framework for Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), implementing the existing laws to ensure the privacy of victims' digital information and evidence.