A discussion titled 'Rape and Torture: What to Do for Legal Protection' was held at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, March 19, 2025 (BSS) - The Rape Law Reform Coalition, a group of human rights campaigners, has called for full and in-depth discussions with all stakeholders, including experts, before formulation of laws against rape and torture.

Speakers came up with the call during a discussion titled 'Rape and Torture: What to Do for Legal Protection', held at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club here today.
 
 Retired Justice Krishna Debnath of the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court was present as special guest with Dhaka University’s Law Department Prof Dr Shahnaz Huda in the chair.
 
 Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA) Adviser Advocate Salma Ali, Women’s Affairs Reform Commission member Dr Maheen Sultan and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Blast) Legal Adviser SM Rezaul Karim also spoke at the discussion, among others.

 Taking part in the discussion, Justice Krishna Debnath said crimes should be defined disregarding the age. The age of the victim should not be different in every single law, he added. 
    
 "In these cases, false cases are filed, and many cases are not prosecuted due to technical reasons, many do not come to court. All these areas need to be addressed and more discussions should be held on this issue. We need to get out of the idea that the law has to be changed as soon as an incident occurs,” he said. 

Instead of making punishment harsher in an enacted law, focus should be on how much the punishment has been able to ensure justice and that should be taken as benchmark, he added.

 Stating that it is important to make the society aware along with the necessary amendments to related laws, he said, "A person who commits a crime like rape is not someone outside this society. It is our responsibility to make the new generation aware about such social ills as they grow up." 

If the people, law-making institutions and the judiciary make efforts, good times will surely come, he opined.

On the issue, Professor Shahnaz Huda said that it is a must to reform the existing Bangladesh Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. 
 
Whoever forms government through elections in future, they will have to ensure the social safety of the women and in this way, crimes such as child marriage and violence against women can be prevented, she stated. 

 “What is the age of marriage of a girl, whether she falls under the definition of a child, what is her ability to give consent, the concept of 'pedophile' does not exist in our country. A detailed discussion is needed to bring these issues into the reform or laws,” she opined.

 Speaking at the discussion, Advocate Salma Ali said that along with enacting the laws, there is a need to bring correction to the service providing organizations.

 “So, it is very important to talk to those who have been working on these issues for a long time,” she said. 

 The prosecutors, police, judicial officers and media people still have a lot to know and learn about how to treat a rape victim and her family for their mental protection, she said.

 Journalists have a lot of responsibility in publicizing this issue accordingly, he added. 

Salma Ali stressed the need for stopping pornography, ensuring transparent trials, monitoring at grassroots and, if necessary, proper training will have to be given to police, lawyers, journalists to deal with such situations for ensuring visible judicial progress and speedy implementation of punishment.

 Dr Maheen Sultan, a member of the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, said, "The recent steps taken by the interim government show that they are thinking and working on this issue, and this is a matter of great joy for us.”

However, while formulating a law, it should be remembered that the law should be made in such a way that all can get justice for a long time, he said. 

“Therefore, I think that the law should be formulated after taking time and in-depth discussions with all the stakeholders," she said. 
 At the beginning of the discussion, Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer and BLAST legal specialist Advocate Ayesha Akhter and BLAST senior research officer Fahad Bin Siddique presented recommendations on the draft of ‘The Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance’.

 Members of various human rights and legal aid organisations, NGOs teachers, students, lawyers and researchers from several universities participated in the discussion.