While domestic violence remains pervasive across Bangladesh, the COVID- 19 crisis and resulting movement restrictions worsened existing difficulties that women faced while seeking redress from domestic violence, as access to services became even more constrained. A book titled ‘In Search of Justice: Untold Tales of Domestic Violence Survivors’, which explores the justice-seeking journeys of domestic violence survivors during the pandemic, was launched on 8 March 2022 at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden. Unveiled in observation of the International Women’s Day and 50 years of German Development Cooperation in Bangladesh. The book was launched by Mr Anisul Huq, MP, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and by H.E. Achim Tröster, Ambassador, Federal Republic of Germany to Bangladesh.
The book presents case studies of twelve women across three districts of Bangladesh, focusing on their complex justice journeys. It covers their coping mechanisms and their agency to tackle societal and institutional barriers, and the role of critical actors in supporting their access to justice. The book also looks at the accessibility of services and effectiveness of different domestic violence response mechanisms from the perspective of survivors, and sheds light on the experience of service providers during the pandemic. By raising the voices of domestic violence survivors, the book intends to allow readers—academics, practitioners, and those supporting women and girls who are survivors of domestic violence—to reflect on their individual and institutional roles and responsibilities, and to strengthen strategies of response.
In his speech, the Honourable Minister, Mr Anisul Haque, MP stated “It is essential for all services including justice services to remain available at all times, under any circumstances, for survivors of violence to seek redressal. Looking ahead, it is important to find ways to support women and girls, especially those at risk to domestic violence and gender-based violence, to recover from the constraints created by the pandemic.”
The German Ambassador to Bangladesh, H.E. Mr Achim Tröster stressed that the book is not only for those who are telling these impressive and heartbreaking stories. “The book is for and about people who are oppressed and those who are suffering from real conditions that still exist,” he said.
The event included a reading from the book by renowned actor, Co-Chairman of Asiatic 360 Ms Sara Zaker and opening remarks from Ms Promita Sengupta, Head of Programme, Rule of Law, GIZ Bangladesh and Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development. Among the distinguished guests was Mr Md. Golam Sarwar, Secretary, Law and Justice Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
The publication is based on research commissioned by GIZ’s Rule of Law Programme, a joint initiative under the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA). BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, undertook the study in partnership with Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), BRAC Social Empowerment and Legal Programme (SELP) (formerly known as BRAC HRLS), and RDRS Bangladesh.
The event was jointly organised by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University and the GIZ’s Rule of Law Programme.
The Rule of Law (RoL) programme is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) is an independent, social science research and post-graduate teaching centre at BRAC University.
