Fear, panic in the eyes of the women around. Their fear is about their own safety, about the safety of their children and relatives. Where is women safe in this society, when? The woman was raped while traveling with her husband. Women have been assaulted in their own homes. Rapists do not leave a four-year-old child! One gang rape after another!
Social media is loud. Protesters took to the streets. Protests are needed. Awareness is created from protests. Public opinion is organized. Policymakers are active. In at least one case, we have seen the benefits of creating awareness. Twenty years ago, the number of women victims of acid attacks in the country was around 500. In 2019, there were 16 incidents of acid-terrorism (Source: Prothom Alo Trust). The role of the big social movement against acid-terrorism must be behind this success.
Awareness, protest, voice against rape should be loud. Let the state decide what to do to prevent rape, let it be active. Let the criminals be tried, let the exemplary punishment be meted out through trial. But the problem of rape is not just a problem of law and order. It’s pretty complicated. There is a power-relationship behind this. There is patriarchy behind it.
I am sharing with readers in my own language some of the articles by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer, published in the January-February 2000 issue of the New York Academy of Sciences.
"One of our friends was raped. He was watching a movie with his friend. The friend closed the car door and raped him. Our friend has been in emotional turmoil ever since. He is afraid to go out. You can't sleep, you can't eat, you can't concentrate on your work. In fact, many of the rape victims suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms of this are anxiety, amnesia, constant thinking about one thing, emotional futility. According to a 1992 survey of women aged 18 and over, 13 percent of women have been raped at least once. Why do men rape? This is a terrible crime. And this is a sign of a sick society in which men fear and disrespect women. In 1975, feminist writer Susan Brown Miller stated that rape had nothing to do with sexual lust, but that it had to be controlled and suppressed. According to Brown Miller, the cause of rape is not sexual desire, all men have desire, but not all men rape. One rapist commits this heinous crime for one reason or another. '
Rape Crisis (England, Wales) in their publication has asked to come out of some misconceptions about rape. Just as a woman should not go out alone at night, rape will decrease ... In fact, that is not the case at all. 9 out of 10 people are raped by his acquaintances.
In Bangladesh, too, 8 percent of women are abused within the family. (Prothom Alo, 1 January 2018). As it is often said by patriarchal minded people, the girl was dressed in provocative clothes, that is why she was raped. This is absolutely wrong and unfair. We have seen that many women who cover themselves are raped in this Bangladesh.
Rape is a big problem in countries like America. Doubts will remain about the reliability of these statistics in Bangladesh, as many rape cases do not actually reach the police. According to the Law and Arbitration Center, 632 women have been raped in the country in the five months from April to August. The World Population Review has published a map of rape in the world on the internet, in which Bangladesh ranks 41st, and every year 11,062 rape cases go to the police station in this country.
It's scary to look at US statistics. One in six women in the United States has been raped or assaulted. In 43 seconds, an American was sexually assaulted. Every day, 60 American women commit suicide as a result of sexual violence. 8 lakh 52 thousand Americans are victims of rape or sexual assault every year. Boys are also victims of rape. That is just like in Bangladesh, all over the world. Children are victims of sexual harassment and rape all over the world. Most of the sexual harassment of children in Bangladesh or abroad occurs at home, by acquaintances or relatives.