Conviction of Rape Cases: A Study on Metropolitan Cities of Bangladesh

Shahjahan M

Published on: 2024-07-09

Abstract

Rape is the ugliest form of violence against women in the society. It is one of the brutal sexual offences that cause severe physical, mental and social consequence for the victim and her family. The brutal forms of rape become horrifying in recent days. Gang rape, child rape including minor girl rape, video recording of the incident and subsequent blackmailing for extortion and repeated rape, murder followed by rape have become more prevalent nowadays. It is evident that a tiny proportion the rape incidents are reported to the police due to associated social stigma, fear of reprisal from rapist, expense involved, lengthy conviction process, uncertainty about conviction, etc. The main objective of this study was to know the current status of conviction of rape cases in Bangladesh and how the conviction in rape cases can be improved. Quantitative data were collected from 175 rape victims and 191 investigation officers through survey and compiled from 575 firs of rape cases filed in the selected police stations during 2013-2017. Under qualitative approach data were collected through KII from officer-in-charges, medical officers, public prosecutors, court inspectors (CI), judge and through case studies of rape victims. It is expected that findings of the study will help the policy makers, investigators, prosecutors and activists to improve the situation.