The long wait for compensation

That rape and sexual assault is an endemic issue in the country can be seen by just how regularly one reads about such cases in our daily pages. According to Ain O Salish Kendra, from January to September 2021, 1,085 women and 462 children were raped in Bangladesh—and these are only the reported cases. In many of these instances, the rape survivors suffer from long-lasting physical complications and have to undergo expensive medical treatment. On top of that, they have to fend for themselves during long and difficult trial proceedings.

Yesterday, this daily reported on the heartbreaking story of a child who was raped in 2016, at the age of five, and who, to this day, suffers from incontinency and requires major urinary tract reconstruction surgery. The costs for the medical tests alone are many times more than what her family makes in a month. Yet, her rapists are still not behind bars, and she has barely received any support from the authorities.

How much longer will rape survivors like this child have to suffer in silence, with no access to compensation for the crimes committed against them? According to a report in this daily, a law drawn up to address compensation for victims of violent crimes, including rape, has been in the draft stages for 14 years now. Although fines can be imposed on perpetrators under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000, and judges can choose to convert this amount into compensation for rape victims and their families, research from BLAST suggests that in 93 percent of such cases, the money is not converted into compensation. Rights activist also argue that the amount of this fine, which goes up to Tk 1 lakh, is not compensation enough for a crime as violent as rape.

In February this year, the High Court issued a rule asking the government to explain why it should not be directed to outline a scheme to ensure compensation for rape victims. We are surprised to hear that several months have gone by with no written response from any of the respondents. We sincerely hope that, once the HC holds a hearing and disposes of the rule, a landmark verdict will be reached, but that will only be the beginning. The assessment of compensation must be guided by a standard principle, but even before that, we must acknowledge the right of every rape victim to receive compensation, and this right must be codified in law. It is unacceptable that the draft law that would recognise this right has been kept hanging for 14 years now. 

Research suggests that only three percent of cases relating to violence against women and children result in a conviction. The inability to pay for lengthy trials while also supporting the rape victim is one of the major reasons behind this shockingly low rate. The fact that so many women and children are being denied justice is a shameful failure on the part of the state and the justice system, and it must be rectified immediately.