Final Report
BASELINE SURVEY OF SAFE CITY PROGRAM
Submitted to
ActionAid Bangladesh,
House # 8, Road # 136, Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1
October 2014
Submitted by
M.A.Mannan
Badrun Nessa Ahmed
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
E-17, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar
Dhaka-1207
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... iv
Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Background, Objectives and Methodology ............................................................................................... 1
1. Background and Overview................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Rapid Urbanization in Bangladesh ................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Urbanization and development ...................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Urbanization and Violence against Women ................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 Sexual harassment ................................................................................................................... 4
1.4 The Concept of Safe city ................................................................................................................ 6
1.5 ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB): Women’s Rights and Gender Equality ........................................ 7
1.6 ActionAid’s Theory of Change ...................................................................................................... 8
2. Objectives of the Baseline survey .................................................................................................. 10
2.1 Overall Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 10
3. Scope of Investigation ........................................................................................................................ 10
4. Research Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 12
4.1 Estimation of Sample Size ........................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Study Population/Respondent category........................................................................................ 13
4.3 Establishing a Methodology for the baseline survey:................................................................... 13
4.3.1 Questionnaire Survey/Interview of Women, Men & Boys .................................................... 14
4.3.2 Case Study and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) ................................................................... 17
4.3.3 Qualitative and Quantitative Data interpretation Framework: Triangulation of Data ........... 18
5. Challenges and Limitations ................................................................................................................ 21
Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 22
Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents .............................................................................. 22
2.2
Socio-economic Profile of Respondents ..................................................................................... 22
2.2.1
Household Income .............................................................................................................. 24
2.2.2
Respondents’ understanding of the ‘Meaning’ of Violence at Public Places ..................... 26
2.3 Defining Sexual Harassment........................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 30
3.1
Travel constraints faced by Women............................................................................................ 31
3.2
Type of Harassment faced on the Street/in the Market place ..................................................... 32
Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................................... 34
Nature and Magnitude of Harassment Suffered by women................................................................. 34
4.1
Magnitude and Frequency of Violence ....................................................................................... 34
4.2
Place and Time of Occurrence .................................................................................................... 36
4.3
Respondents’ Opinion about Specific City Areas having higher Risks ...................................... 38
4.4
Respondents’ Opinion about particular time of the Day having higher Risks ............................ 39
4.5
Negative impact on the lives of Women ..................................................................................... 40
4.6
Strategies normally adopted by women to get rid of harassment ............................................... 42
4.7
Factors Affecting Security in Public place................................................................................. 43
4.8
Consequences of Sexual harassment/Violence ........................................................................... 44
4.9
Knowledge and Awareness regarding Important Issues ............................................................ 44
4.10 Measures Needed by the Government to Stop sexual harassment .............................................. 46
4.11 Opinion regarding the steps needed to make Cities Safe for Women ......................................... 47
ii
Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................................... 49
Experience of Sexual Harassment and Help Seeking Behavior ............................................................ 49
5.1
Reactions after being harrassed................................................................................................... 49
5.2
Reporting after experiencing sexual harrassment ....................................................................... 50
5.3
Places where Complaint was made ............................................................................................. 50
5.4
Outcome of reporting sexual harrassment................................................................................... 51
5.5
Image of Police in public eye ...................................................................................................... 53
5.6
Barriers in Accessing Services .................................................................................................... 54
5.7
Community awareness/response to sexual harassment ............................................................... 55
Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................................................... 57
Focus Group Discussion and Case Studies ............................................................................................. 57
Section A: Findings from Focus Group Discussion ............................................................................... 57
A.1 Issues faced by women in the society in public space ................................................................. 57
A.2 Problems regarding Security ....................................................................................................... 57
A.2.1 Cultural Constraints ............................................................................................................. 58
A.2.2 Institutional Constraints ....................................................................................................... 58
A.2.3 Accessibility Constraints...................................................................................................... 58
A.2.4 Safety and Security Constraints ........................................................................................... 60
A.2.5 Affordability Constraints ..................................................................................................... 60
A.3 Voice of FGD participants .......................................................................................................... 60
Section B: Findings from Case Studies .................................................................................................. 65
Case Study 1: Rajia had to stop going to school because of sexual harassment ................................ 65
Case Study 2: Sexual harassment on the way to tutorial home .......................................................... 67
Case Study 3: School going mother being harassed on the way ........................................................ 67
Case Study 4: A Poor woman, a petty trader, being harassed while in the bus.................................. 69
Case Study 5: A Garment worker being subjected to violence/harassment on the street .................. 70
Case Study 6: A Garment worker being abused/harassed by police .................................................. 71
Case Study 7: A street girl being abused/harassed by police ............................................................. 71
Case Study 8: A domestic help being abused/harassed by mastans/drug addicts .............................. 72
Case Study 9: The story of a rape victim ........................................................................................... 72
B.1 Summary Findings from Case Studies ........................................................................................ 73
B.2 The culture of blaming the Victims ............................................................................................. 75
B.3 Concluding remarks ..................................................................................................................... 76
Chapter 7 ................................................................................................................................................... 78
Discussion of Major Issues and Recommendations ............................................................................... 78
7.1
Violence against women at public Place..................................................................................... 78
7.2
Harassment faced by Women ..................................................................................................... 80
7.3
Women and security ................................................................................................................... 80
7.4
Consequences of Sexual Harassment/ Violence ......................................................................... 81
7.5
Violence against Women and Human Rights ............................................................................. 82
7.6
Sexual Harassment and the Laws in Bangladesh ........................................................................ 83
7.7
Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................... 85
7.7.1 Reasons for Failure to Check violence at public places ............................................................ 85
7.7.2 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 87
iii
Executive Summary
Background: Bangladesh urbanized rapidly, post 1971, from a mere 8 % of people living in
urban areas to 30 percent now. Urbanization, mostly driven by rural to urban migration saw
slums and areas with poor living. While women become vulnerable to violence in these
habitations, owing to socio-cultural and religious perspectives, women in general,
irrespective of class, faced violence both at home and in public places. Urban spaces have
become increasingly unsafe for women.
Sexual violence, in its many forms, affect women, be it home or outside. Rape remains
underreported. Particularly incest, sexual harassment / violence committed by relatives,
neighbors or those in the community are not reported. So are molestation and eve-teasing.
More organized crimes such as trafficking is a reality for women, particularly young girls. It
is reported that 15 percent victims were minors.
The concept of safe city: The concept of safer cities for women and girls refers to the
challenge of developing cities free of violence against women. This violence is manifested in
the public sphere of cities (transportation, streets, public spaces, recreational places, health,
education, etc.) and in the private spheres of women’s own homes. Safe city can be defined as
– safe urban areas where - women have easy access to all public facilities without any
violence, women can move and live without fear of sexual harassment in both public and
private spheres, and there is a strong legal, political, social and cultural commitment and
assurance to ensure a city free from violence against women.
Safe City Programme of ActionAid: It is in this context, concept of safe city assumes
importance. ActionAid is implementing a four year programme making a city safe for women
and girls from sexual violence and fear of sexual violence in public spaces with an emphasis
women / girls enjoying their rights in a city. The project envisages three outcomes: (1)
women / girls are empowered to enjoy their freedom in public spaces free from fear of sexual
violence; (2) a responsive transportation system, police department, local government /
urban planning authorities meet community’s demand for providing gender responsive
services to ensure women and girls’ right to city; (3) The government to enact and amend
policies and legislation related to anti-sexual violence in public places and gender responsive
urban planning
It is expected that this programme will benefit 17,730 direct participants, including 8333
males. The programme shall reach out to 10% of women and adolescent girls in seven
targeted cities in Bangladesh: Dhaka (Dhaka and Narayangonj city), Chittagong, Sylhet,
Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, and Khulna.
Objectives: The ActionAid Bangladesh has commissioned a study to carry out a
comprehensive baseline survey with quantitative and qualitative data from a feminist lens.
The main purpose of the baseline survey is to assess, identify, and document the existing
sexual/fear of sexual violence situation in public spaces for women and girls in urban and
peri-urban areas in seven cities of Bangladesh. An attempt has been made to understand the
particular safety issues women face in public spaces, and the type of services available in the
light of “Women’s Right to City” .
Baseline Survey – Sampling and Methodology: The baseline survey has been conducted to
scientifically establish baseline values for indicators, which shall be compared with an end
line study to assess changes brought about by ActionAid programme. Both quantitative and
qualitative methods have been used for data collection. For quantitative data collection, a
sample size of 800 women / adolescent girls were considered. While these form the primary
target population, the study also interviewed 400 men / boys (50% of primary target
population), who are an important secondary population. Therefore, a total sample size of
1200 earmarked for the baseline survey. The interviews conducted covered income
categories such as those in Poor / slum category (monthly income up to tk. 10,000), middle
income (monthly income tk 10,000-25000) and upper income (monthly income tk. 25,000+).
The respondents were accessed at busy locations of the cities such as bus stops, railway
stations, market centres / shopping malls, parks or educational institutions.
In addition, Key informant interviews (KII) were conducted (56) with police, Local govt. and
Urban planning Authority, Transport Authority/drivers/conductors, case studies prepared (15)
and FGDs carried out (14). All these were distributed across the seven cities.
Findings: Majority, 97% of women and 95% of men view sexual harassment as violence.
Women recognize clearly various type of harassments in public / private transportation, on
the streets, market places / shopping mall. Derogatory comments (85% plus), sexually
colored abusive language (46% or higher), derogatory comments by drivers or conductors
(86%) / general people in market places (88%) / shopkeepers and sellers (69%) emerged as
top of the mind responses. Interestingly fear of mugging / hijacking is the highest at shops /
market places and shopping malls (78%). A more or less equal proportion of men / boys
agreed to various type of harassments in the public places faced by women.
The previous section established awareness / recognition of harassment / violence faced by
women in public spaces, knowing what percent of women were subjected to these harassment
/ violence is an indicator that establishes extent of problem. Women/girls are subjected to
different forms of sexual harassment or violence while on the street: Sexual
advances/physical contact/ deliberate push (reported by 57%); Dirty proposal from unknown
persons (48%); and Derogatory comments/sexually colored abusive language (84%).
Women reported experiencing these abuses during last three months as 4.6 times, 2.7 times
and 4.7 times respectively. Higher percentage of women below 20 years reported various
type of harassments, compared to 20-29 years and 30+ years. Most of the perpetrators are in
the age group of 27 to 34 years.
Sexual harassment occurs the most on the road or while walking. Early morning, mid day or
evening are the timing women is subjected to various types of harassment.
v
The respondents named the following places in each city areas as having higher risks.
Overall, risk of harassment is higher on footpath or roadside (85% of women and 77.5% of
men). Bus / train terminal (66% women and 63% men) followed. Market places / shopping
mall was identified by more than 50% of the respondents and park / recreation centres by two
fifths of men and women.
An overwhelming majority, women (90%) and men (92), acknowledged negative impact of
harassment / violence in public places.
Women adopt the following strategies to avoid harassment / violence: “avoid going outside
at night” (reported by 62.4%), “not going outside alone” (reported by 60%),“avoid visiting
specific areas” (mentioned by 47.4%). Other responses include: “avoid crowded place”
(23.8%),“avoid lonely place” (26.9%), “avoid using public transport” (13.3%), “avoid
wearing colorful dress” (21..9%), and “carrying equipment for self defense” (2.9%).
However, a fourth of the women (24%) do not follow any strategy because in their opinion
nothing will help them, they will have to tolerate this and live with this kind of harassment.
Respondents also identified various factors contributing to insecurity in public places. They
are: sexual harassment (mentioned by 47.5% women and 35% men), inadequate street
lighting (mentioned by 39% women and 19% men), no women buses (mentioned by 36.8%
women and 25.5% men), fear of mugging/hijacking (mentioned by 38% women and 58.5%
men), lack of skilled police/inadequate police patrol (mentioned by 34.6% women and 45%
men), and lack of respect for women (as mentioned by 45.1% women and 18.5% men). It was
clear that women perceived these mobility risks more than men. Again, 35 percent men and
47.5 percent women identified eve teasing and harassment by touts as special risks for
women. Personal security risks were mentioned more by men than women- about 59.9
percent men and 38 percent women identified mugging/hijacking by mastans.
In general, a high percent of women (46%) and men (39%) could not specify laws and rules
against sexual harassment. Repression of women and children Act mentioned by 28% of
women and 40% of men.
More than 80 percent of respondents are aware about the support services. When asked
about to mention type of services, the highest proportion mention about police help (81.6%),
followed by legal help of court/adalat (68%), health care at govt. health facility (55.9%), and
shalish by ward commissioner (46.9%).
The participants identified measures to be taken up by government to stop sexual harassment.
They include strengthening of security measures ( reported by 88% of both men and women),
a similar proportion want strict enforcement of existing laws( reported by 88% of women and
78% of men), provision of adequate street lighting was the third most important issue ( as
vi
mentioned by 72% of women and 45% of men). However, increasing the number of
police/patrol was mentioned by two-thirds of both men and women. About half of women
(48.9%) and a quarter of men (27.5%) wanted new legislation to deal with sexual
harassment.
It has emerged that about 50% of those who suffered a harassment did nothing / suffered in
silence post incidence. However, about 41% protested instantly. Many, 46% also sought help
from nearby people. They also informed the family (54%) and sought help from a friend
(36%).
Only 16% of women reported the sexual harassment incident. Majority did not report as this
might bring “Dishonor for the family” (70%), “People will look down upon/condescending
attitude” (76%), “Social stigma” (46%), “ No benefit from complaining / no action taken”
(47%), and “Reporting is a complex procedure” (27%). The negative image of police among
the public is so prominent that a significant proportion of women (30.4 percent) said that
they do not go for reporting about their suffering because they are afraid of further
harassment by the police.
Out of 49 women, who reported the incident of harassment, 61% reported it in a thana or
police. Large majority, including those who reported in a thana or police, reported the
incident to local leaders / influential persons / ward commissioners, etc (92%) .
Only 43% (21 women) of the women who complained about harassment got some results /
remedial measures. Of these, 63% were reasonably satisfied about the outcome and 16
percent are highly satisfied. One fifth, 21% of 21 women were not satisfied at all with action
taken.
The 28 women, who reported the incident and did not get any result, a majority said that
their case was given less importance (86%). Perpetrators being powerful were reason in case
of 75% of women. About 68% also said they it was difficult to prove / lack of evidence.
Women also mentioned Lengthy procedure (25%) and high cost (39%).
Image of police in the eye of public remains a major constraint for people seeking police
assistance for sexual harassment cases at public places. A very high percent of respondents
(81%) said that they would not approach police for help. A very low percent (13%) of
respondents reported witnessing police taking any action against sexual harassment cases at
public places.
Almost all (95%) said there are problems in seeking help from police. They include (1) the
police would blame the women rather than taking actions against the perpetrator (65%); (2)
vii
the police would take the complain lightly and would not prosecute the perpetrator (57%);
(3)the police would merely perform a token service by recording the incident with no further
action (37%);(4) there would be no result from the complaint (53%); (5) fear of going to
Thana / Police (28%), and (6) risk of further harassment by police (12 %)
The focus group discussions and case studies provided valuable information on current
situation of sexual harassment, perception when, where and why it happens and support /
assistance required to tackle these. The issues emerged from FGDs are, situation and
remedies
Women are working outside the home in larger numbers, but they often have fewer livelihood
opportunities and they face various problems when they go outside their homes
Women face constraints with regard to their access to public transport, and they enjoy very
little autonomy while they travel.

Sexual Harassment/ abuse against women is widespread.

Women also face insecurity in the event of making complains against violence

Some of the girls/women endure extreme insecurity on their way to
workplace/schools/shopping place
Participants of FGDs agreed and case studies revealed that women/girls are subjected to all
kinds of sexual abuse/harassment on the street. Poor girl/woman is much more vulnerable. A
girl/woman is doubly disadvantaged: she is abused/harassed by the perpetrator and also she
is likely to be blamed by the society and community.
Fear of being robbed, mugged and physically injured is a major concern expressed by
participants. In all the seven cities women are afraid of being attacked in footpaths and back
streets/lanes, especially after sunset.
The main victims of sexual harassment are girl students, squatter women and those who work
in the informal sector. Many of them have to travel on public transport or on foot daily for
their livelihoods and sheer survival. They face harassment and violence on buses, mini-buses
and other forms of transport.
Some of the women who suffered harassment have changed their schedules. For example,
some women have stopped work or working during the night shift and some of the girls have
changed the schools, courses and even abandoned going to school due to the fear of sexual
harassment on the street.
Conclusion: In Bangladesh, in the cities where baseline study was conducted, violence
against women in public space is accepted and sexual harassment is often seen as a failure of
viii
women in disciplining themselves – free movement or type of cloths. The society tolerates,
even accepts, violence at public place. It is evident that gender-based violence including eve
teasing, rape, sexual abuse, is widespread. It is also a fact that it is underreported.
Women/girl and family choose not to report, fearing stigma or any useful outcome. Absence
of deterrence, accomplice of police, and connections with locally powerful people are the
main barriers for reporting. A majority who reported could not get any justice as
perpetrators used their powers to wriggle out of the case. This has resulted in women limiting
use of public spaces restricting full realization of their potential. This is a serious curb on
women / girls enjoying range of human rights in public spaces. The insecurity, threat,
harassment and violence are real.
The study also found that there is a need to address some of the root causes of sexual
harassment and violence. They are:

No law to deal with sexual harassment;

Social tolerance of violence at public places;

Cultural tendency to accuse the victims instead of the culprits;

Financial and social obstacles of women in seeking justice;

Complicated and lengthy legal process;

Ineffective implementation of laws;

No proper and timely prosecution of the culprits;

Lack of gender sensitivity in dealing with cases of violence by police and judicial authority;

No change in deep rooted values, beliefs and attitudes towards women;

Lack of political commitment of the leaders. VAW is not yet included in the agenda of
political parties manifesto.
To change these, a concerted effort is required from Government, administration, political
leaders, donor communities, NGOs, women’s organizations, human rights organizations and
other members of civil society. The focus should be on:

Changing the mindset and attitude of people to remove disparity and discrimination
against women. It is the males who are mainly responsible for violence at public
places. So they should be sensitized to change their mindset;

Government must strongly deal with various forms of violence at public places.
Exemplary punishments must be enforced for certain cases. At the same time, speedy
trials and non-bail able cases should be dealt with severely;
ix

Effective implementations of existing laws are necessary. Human rights activists and
women’s organizations should act as pressure groups for proper implementation of
laws, amendment of existing laws/ enactment of new laws, and timely disposal of all
cases;

The victims of violence must be encouraged to break the silence, to speak up about
their experiences;

All personnel in position of authority in the judiciary and police force should have
gender sensitivity training. Without this, women’s access to justice will not be
improved.
Recommendations:
1. Amendment of existing laws or Enactment of new laws so that offences relating to Sexual
harassment/ abuse can be dealt with. A working group consisting of representatives from
several NGOs, women groups and legal specialists may prepare a draft in this regard.
2. Appropriate services to victims, in the form of direct support from the police, health,
judiciary and Human Rights Groups
3. Active prosecution of perpetrators should be taken by agencies, including NGOs and
groups working for women’s rights
4. Including issue of gender violence in school curricula, with an emphasis on quality
between sexes in all matters
5. Media to portray balance, healthy and gender sensitive perceptions of male-female
relationship
6. Community education efforts – directed to women, men and family elders – must
effectively communicate (i) women’s right to safe city and (ii) the likely consequences of
violence against women at public spaces.
7.
The Government should take appropriate and effective measures to deal with
complains regarding violence cases. Increasing the size of police force to increase the
frequency of police patrol, particularly in places were women go for work / to schools
and colleges. There should be a Sexual Harassment and Prevention Cell at the police
station to deal with sexual harassment cases.
8. A mechanism should be developed or strengthened for women to voice their grievances,
particularly ensuring accessibility for poor and excluded women.
x
Chapter 1
Background, Objectives and Methodology
1. Background and Overview
1.1 Rapid Urbanization in Bangladesh
Bangladesh, as the rest of the developing world, is urbanizing rapidly; around one-third of the
country’s population comprising 50 million people, live in urban areas. In recent years, urban
population is growing at an increasing rate in Bangladesh(at an annual rate of between five to
six percent).Urban population has grown from 5 million in 1970 to 22 million in 1990 to
about 52 million in 2010. Even though level of urbanization is low in Bangladesh, the
magnitude of urban population (more than 50 million) is larger than the national population
of many countries in the world (Australia, Canada). It has been projected that the share of
urban population will be 44.3% of total population by 2030 (UN 2002), and more than 50%
of the population will live in urban areas by 2050 (UN 2007).
There were 41 urban areas in present day Bangladesh at the census of 1901 and 1911 which
increased to 51 in the census of 1921, 59 in 1931, 60 in 1941, 64 in 1951, 78 in 1961 and
more than 300 in 2001. Bangladesh is a speedily urbanizing country where the urban base has
expanded dramatically, from less than a tenth (around 7%) of total population in 1974 to
about a third of total population in 2011.
The rapid urbanization of Bangladesh is likely to have profound implications for the health
profile of her population. Accompanying this rapid pace of urbanization, there has been a
faster growth in the population residing in slums and squatters. It is estimated that slums
represent the fastest growing segments of the urban population, which is almost double the
growth of overall urban population.
Most of the urban residents are especially vulnerable to various risks--crowded living
conditions, unhygienic surroundings and lack of basic amenities such as garbage disposal
facilities, water and sanitation. The near total absence of civic amenities coupled with lack of
primary health care services in most of the urban settlements has an adverse impact on the
health status of its residents. However, the health of the urban poor is significantly worse off
than the rest of the urban population and is even worse than the health conditions in rural
areas.
1
Urban residents are especially vulnerable to health risks. ‘Vulnerability’ can be defined as a
situation where the people are more prone to face negative situations and when there is a
higher likelihood of succumbing to the adverse situations. In addition to poor health and
hygienic conditions, majority of urban people suffer from insecurity.
1.2 Urbanization and development
Urbanization, industrialization, and education are three of the variables most commonly cited
as bearing in causal relationship to development. Before the British period, urbanization and
industrialization are believed to have been considerable in Bengal but subsequently they
declined. Starting from small sizes, cities and towns have grown again over the last century
and at an accelerated rate after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. The share of urban to
total population was less than 8 percent in 1971 which increased to about 30 percent by
2011..
It is argued that differences in livelihoods patterns in urban and rural community stems from
differences a socio-economic condition between the two. On the one hand, rural communities
are generally characterized by relative homogeneity, a predominantly agrarian economy, a
higher degree of illiteracy and lack of adequate scope for income earning activities. On the
other hand, urban communities are more diversified economically, are more heterogeneous in
composition and are more literate, since by their occupational diversification, there are
usually many jobs requiring some degree of education and skill training. However, it needs to
be mentioned here that urbanization in the country stems more from a rural exodus generated
by agricultural over population rather than from economic expansion and transformation of
industrial and occupational structure.
Urbanization has traditionally been considered as an inevitable process to go through for the
development of a country but unplanned and unequal development of urbanization; especially
in third world countries like Bangladesh, could in turn emerge as a major obstacle. Since an
urban condition widens the horizon of multifarious economic activities, a huge number of
both skilled and unskilled employees come together to live and work in a particular area.
People from the wide spectrum of the society regardless of the distance from the city have
been pulled by the new opportunities in urban areas and this process, widely known as
migration, occurs in response to the increasing pace of urbanization.
2
The relationship between urbanization and development has not been linear; often it emerges
as a reciprocal manner. Sometimes urbanization can be a cause of migration and vis-à-vis
migration could also lead to the urbanization of a country. Migration led urbanization or vice
versa both represent an antinomy in countries like Bangladesh. People from different social
ranks and mores seek urban destination, voluntarily or involuntarily, in order to obtain better
livelihoods, shelter, education, and also choose migration as a stepping stone to change their
fortune. Consequently, huge influx of migrants makes the cities densely populated; they
reside mostly in the urban squatters and suffer from the severe scarcity of urban utility
services. These newly created demands for utilities services, employment, health, education
etc. pose serious threats to the sustainability of the urban attractions.
The link between urbanization, a degraded environment, inaccessibility to health care and a
deteriorating quality of life is particularly significant. Large-scale unplanned rural-urban
migration and the continuous growth of towns and cities have resulted in overloaded public
services, scarcity of housing, inaccessible health care facilities and a negative impact on the
environment. Some characteristics of urban areas are overcrowding, squatter settlements,
pavement dwellers and slums.
Access to even minimal services of sanitation, drinking water, electricity, roads, transports
etc is absent. They are caught up in the vicious cycle of insecurity, low wages, unhygienic
working environment, and hard working conditions on the on the hand, and absence of any
other option on the other. This sets in motion a vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation. The
abysmal lack of adequate civic amenities also cries out for urgent intervention by the
government and city/municipality administration in bringing some vital improvements.
3
1.3 Urbanization and Violence against Women
Urbanization is also associated with drug trafficking, prostitution, violence and crime. Urban
residents are subjected to frequent violence and exploitation by local mastans, extortionists.
The condition of women and girls become even more vulnerable, because they suffer
violence both at home and in public places.
In the South Asian region, violence against women has assumed multi-dimensional forms,
such as trafficking in women and girls, domestic violence, sexual abuse, violence at work
place, forced prostitution, child abuse etc. Recent addition to the already manifold problems
is fatwa (i.e. women are punished unjustly using sharia/Islamic law). Not only in South Asia,
but also in the world at large, violence against women has become one of the most visible and
articulated social issues.
In Bangladesh, women endure daily beatings, harassment for dowry, verbal abuse and acid
attacks for refusing to comply with male demands. Other women become targets of extreme
forms of violence such as incest, rape, forced marriage, early marriage, and dowry deaths.
The incidence of VAW is on the rise.
According to WHO definition, “Gender violence encompasses violence against women
within the family or within the general community – including rape, sexual abuse, sexual
harassment, forced prostitution and violence perpetrated or condoned by the state, wherever it
occurs (WHO 1997)”.
There is no universally accepted definition of violence against women. Definitions vary
according to different perspectives, and are reflected differently in different policies. The
globally accepted UN definition is widely used in Bangladesh. This broader definition of
violence against women recognizes not only physical, sexual and psychological violence, but
also threat of violence. “Any act of gender-based violence that result in, or likely to result in,
physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”.
1.3.1 Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment/eve teasing is a major form of violence faced by women/girls in public
places. Sexual harassment comes in all forms, and in all spheres of a woman's life. From
ogling, winking, passing comments in the form of sexual innuendos, to touching, groping,
'eve-teasing', stalking, sending lewd text messages, 'prank' calls, display of pornography,
threatening and intimidation, acid attacks, and unwanted 'love' proposals. Most women in our
4
country have been subjected to some form of sexual harassment at some point in their lives.
Sexual harassment occurs in different places:
o on the street,
o at the workplace, and
o at educational institutions
This typology, while imperfect and far from being universally accepted, does provide a useful
framework for understanding the complex patterns of sexual harassment taking place in the
everyday lives of women in the cities. However, in both research and practice, the dividing
lines between the different locations of sexual harassment/ violence are not always so clear.
Because a girl/woman may suffer sexual harassment at all of the above-mentioned places. It
also overcomes many of the limitations of other typologies by capturing the nature of violent
acts, the relevance of the setting, the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
A draft policy on Sexual Harassment in Bangladesh (2009) identifies the parameters that
define sexual harassment, which include among others, making sexually colored
jokes/remarks, unsolicited comments and advances, commenting on a person's clothes,
creating pressure to yield to a love proposal or physical relationship, blackmailing with
photos or video, touching any part of a person's body without consent, and pestering a person
with letters, emails, text messages, posters, wall writings, notices and cartoons etc., and any
harassing behaviour towards girls or women by youth/adult/ students, physical harassment,
using one's social or political power to force someone to have a physical relationship.
Women who have to be in public places grimly 'accept' harassment as part of their daily lives,
facing it as soon as they are out of the house. Instead of demanding a change in male
behaviour, women are segregating themselves from their male counterparts, sometimes by
wearing hijab, as a defense mechanism. In spite of this horrific climate, there are no national
laws against sexual harassment at public places.
Rape is the worst form of intimidation, the taboo surrounding sexuality and the “shame” and
loss of honor generally prevent women from seeking justice in cases of rape. Moreover, the
burden of proving the assault rests on the victim and the focus is more on the victim’s
character, possible provocation and temptation rather than the offence perpetrated by the
assailant. The extent of this violence may be seen from the figure of the rape victims (6,597
during 2003-2008) as compiled by BNWLA. Taking into account the reasons for non5
reporting cited above, this might be a reflection of only the tip of the iceberg. The most
shocking part is that about 15 percent victims were minors. This is the manifestation of
society’s failure to protect female children from such devastating violation. Sexual abuse
among young girls and adolescents is a violation of a young girl’s basic rights and bodily
integrity and may have profound health consequences such as behavioral and psychological
problems, sexual dysfunction, relationship problems, low self-esteem, depression, thoughts of
suicide, deliberate self harm, alcohol and substance abuse and sexual risk taking. In addition,
women who are abused in childhood are at a greater risk of being physically and sexually
abused as adults. Sexual abuse in childhood has also been linked to a range of negative
reproductive health outcomes such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV.
1.4 The Concept of Safe city
The concept of safer cities for women and girls refers to the challenge of developing cities
free of violence against women: the greatest expression of equality between men and women.
This violence is manifested in the public sphere of cities (transportation, streets, public
spaces, recreational places, health, education, etc.) and in the private spheres of women’s own
homes. The Safer Cities for women and girls concept is based on the need to build urban
spaces where the rights of women as human beings and citizens are recognized and on the
need to implement corresponding public policies in order for those rights to be fulfilled
(PCDN 2012).
According to “A Draft Strategic Framework for Women’s Safety in Delhi 2010” (Suri 2011),
“A safe city is one that promotes the elimination of gender-based violence, while at the same
time promoting equal opportunities for men and women in all the spheres of social,
economic, cultural and political life (access to employment, education, political participation,
resources and leisure, etc.)”.
ActionAid’s Safe cities initiative promotes the concept of the right to the city. For ActionAid,
Safe city is a place where the State is accountable for ensuring opportunities for women and
girls to enjoy their city. It means:

Safe Public spaces where women and girls can move freely, including without fear of
sexual harassment or assault

Freedom from sexual harassment and abuse in all public spaces, including markets,
streets, parks and the workplace.
6

Gender sensitive policing mechanisms for reporting violence, obtaining redress and
accessing services for survivors such as anti violence centers/shelters.

Urban amenities and services, which includes access to transportation and other
public amenities at home and public places to reduce the risk of violence.
Safe city can be defined as – safe urban areas where - women have easy access to all public
facilities without any violence, women can move and live without fear of sexual harassment
in both public and private spheres, and there is a strong legal, political, social and cultural
commitment and assurance to ensure a city free from violence against women. The public
facilities include access to employment, education, water, sanitation, health and legal services
and assurance of healthy environment. The public and private spheres include home,
workplaces, commercial places, recreational and medical centers, streets and transports used
for communication etc. Legal, Political, Social and Cultural commitment and assurance
means the availability of constitutional guarantees, policies, legislations, institutional and
organizational initiatives, individual efforts and collective practices.
1.5 ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB): Women’s Rights and Gender
Equality
Addressing the issue of Violence against Women has important implications for human rights
and gender equality. Violence is also a means of control and enforcement of social norms.
Moreover, it affects outcomes at individual and family level. Women who experience
violence have worse health and other outcomes.
ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB), an associate member of ActionAid International Federation,
works with thousands of communities countrywide to end poverty and injustice. AAB’s has
entered into its Fourth Country Strategy (CSP-IV) period titled “People Challenging Poverty
and Exclusion”, underpinned by its human rights based approach (HRBA) to development,
transforming power relations in every community where AAB works.
Goal
ActionAid puts women’s rights and gender equality at the centre of its work. One of the five
strategic objectives of ActionAid’s 2012-2017 strategy is to:
“Ensure that women and girls can break the cycle of poverty and violence, build economic
alternatives and claim control over their bodies.” The “Safe City for Women & Girls”
7
programme contributes to meeting this organizational objective. The “Safe City for Women
& Girls” programme aims to influence both decision-makers at a local and national level in
Bangladesh as well as decision-makers at the international level. The programme targets
women’s ‘Right to the City’ and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). It is
innovative in that it attempts to bring together these two key areas of ActionAid’s women’s
rights work that are frequently dealt with separately in development interventions despite the
strong linkages between these two issues in women’s lives. In targeting both, ActionAid
foresees that this programme will have a greater impact by empowering women and girls to
claim their rights to live life free from fear of sexual violence.
1.6 ActionAid’s Theory of Change
ActionAid works through a human rights based approach to development, which places a
commitment to building the active agency of people living in poverty at its centre. This
approach is deeply concerned about challenging unequal power, which is seen as the source
of rights violations and injustices, especially upon those living in poverty. For the young
women involved in this programme, their age, gender, class and migrant status intersect.
Discrimination and inequality perpetrated on this basis gives rise to violations of their rights
to decent work and sexual and reproductive health rights. AAB’s approach asserts the
indivisibility and interconnectedness of rights, recognizing that for young women to enjoy
their rights, they must work to challenge policies and laws, as well as practices and behaviors
that perpetuate inequality. AAB therefore addresses their access to decent work1 and sexual
and reproductive services simultaneously in three key ways – empowerment, campaigning
and solidarity:
Programme Background and Overview
In March 2012, representatives of Action Aid countries selected Safe Cities as one of the
three multi-country campaigns (MCCs) upon which the federation will work during 20122017. In response with the AA’s prior campaign of Safe City Programme, AAB’s objective is
to organize, and mobilize women, men and youth and their organizations on demanding
pubic policies towards creating a safer environment in cities for women and girls. AAB will
1
AAB hopes to build on the extensive work and experience of ILO who sees productive employment and decent
work as a key development goal. Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It
involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and
social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for
people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of
opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
8
advocate for the improvement in public services (light, water and sanitation, health and
mobility and transportation) through holding governments and corporate to account. By 2017,
AAB will mobilize and empower at least a significant number of women and girls, who will
raise their voice against gender- based violence in public spaces and will have access to
participate in decision making process on urban planning and law enforcement.
Programme goal: To accomplish these objectives, the AAB’s safe city program/campaign’s
impact is set for 2014-2017: Making a City Safe for Women and Girls from sexual violence
and fear of sexual violence in public spaces and enjoy their rights to city.
Expected outcomes:
• Outcome 1: Women and girls are empowered to enjoy their freedom in public spaces free
from fear of sexual violence.
• Outcome 2: Transportation System, Policing, Local Government and Urban Planning
Authority are responsive to community’s demand for providing gender responsive services
to ensure women and girls’ right to city
• Outcome 3: The government will enact and amend policies and legislation related to antisexual violence in public places and gender responsive urban planning
Target group and indirect beneficiaries: There will be 17,730 direct participants (female9397, male-8333). Across the programme, there will be 10% indirect participants of women
and adolescent girls in 7 targeted cities. However, the residents of whole city, especially
women and girls will be benefited.
Project location Divisional Cities; Dhaka (Dhaka and Narayangonj city), Chittagong, Sylhet,
Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, and Khulna in Bangladesh.
The project will ensure justice to all participants irrespective of race, class, religion, ethnicity,
and age to ensure safe and secured mobility (for women and girls) 24 hours a day round the
year. However, the project will explicitly target the women living with disabilities, Dalit2
community, indigenous people, internal women migrants, garments workers, domestic
workers in ensuring the safe mobility and rights to city. The targeted Men and Boys groups
will take a stand on intolerance of violence against women in cities.
2
Ethnic minority who are considered to be the untouchable and are engaged in sewerage, drain and garbage
cleaning activities of the city.
9
2. Objectives of the Baseline survey
The ActionAid Bangladesh has commissioned a study to carry out a comprehensive baseline
survey with quantitative and qualitative data from a feminist lens. The main purpose of the
baseline survey is to assess, identify, and document the existing sexual/fear of sexual
violence situation in public spaces for women and girls in urban and peri-urban areas in seven
cities of Bangladesh. An attempt has been made to understand the particular safety issues
women face in public spaces, and the type of services available in the light of “Women’s
Right to City” .
2.1 Overall Objectives
The overall objectives are, to:
i. Assess the current situation of insecurity faced by women in public places(nature and
forms of violence and/or harassment faced by women),
ii. Examine attitudes and behaviors of women , men, girls and boys towards
normalization of violence (societal perceptions and attitudes to sexual
harassment/fear of violence);
iii. Assess the existing services and capacity of the relevant service providers in gender
responsive public services (police in safeguarding women’s rights, etc);
iv. Provide insights and recommendations that will contribute to strengthening the
activities for the safe city for women and girls initiatives.
3. Scope of Investigation
The empowerment of women and girls lies at the core of AAB programming. This implies
that all programming is directed towards women’s empowerment and is designed taking into
account three domain of change i.e. enhanced decision-making, reduced violence against
women, and strong advocacy including amendment of existing laws or enactment of new law
against VAW targeted to men.
The overall goals of AAB program are directed towards ensuring that women and girls can
break the cycle of poverty and violence with particular emphasis on:

Promoting and protecting rights of women in the light of women’s human rights,
with particular emphasis on Right to City and Sexual and Reproductive Health
and Rights (SRHR);
10

Creating a protective environment to shield women from gender-based violence in
general, and sexual/fear of sexual violence in particular;

Promoting accountability by duty bearers through improved planning,
implementing and monitoring;

Enhancing institutional capacity of gender responsive public services to protect
women and girls.
The most basic rights are: the right to Life, Survival and Development; and the right to be
protected from all types of discrimination and violence. Women and victims of gender
violence are in special need of three things: (a) protection from abusive behaviour/violence,
(b) access to (women friendly) services, and (c) opportunities for personal growth and
development with a view to:

Ensuring women’s security;

Ensuring them of opportunity;

Ensuring safe city for women and girls and by providing support to those in need.
The present research intends to look into the following major components:
 Situation analysis focusing on mapping of support services with regard to capacity
building for key actors involved with protection and promotion of human rights
(in the context of Women’s Right to Safe City); and in case of rights violations,
increasing access to justice by providing gender sensitive services, and advancing
public education and outreach.
11
4. Research Methodology
4.1 Estimation of Sample Size
The appropriate sample size for a population based survey is determined by three factors:
estimated prevalence of variables of interest, desired level of confidence and acceptable
margin of error.
For a survey design based on multistage, random cluster sampling, the required sample size
can be estimated according to the following formula:
n=z2p(1-p)d(1-nr)/e2
n = required sample size
z=confidence level at 95 percent (standard value of 1.96)
p=estimated prevalence of variable of interest
e=margin of error at 5 percent (standard value of 0.05)
d= design effect, and
nr= non-response or recording error (usually 5 percent of total sample)
The estimated result is rounded up to the closest number that matches well with the number
of clusters to be surveyed. While estimating sample size, all measurable key indicators is
taken into consideration.
In drawing representative sample from this universe, the criterion ‘incidence of Eve
teasing/sexual harassment’ has been used as sexual violence/fear of violence is the focal point
of AAB program. It was found from Zohir and Paul-Majumder study (2008) that 34 women
out of 100 reported to be victims of eve teasing/ sexual harassment at public places/ on the
street. Thus a measurable estimate of 34 percent is considered realistic based on Zohir and
Paul-Majumder (2008).
Taking p at 0.34, the total sample size for the female respondents is estimated as:
n=(1.96)2×0.34×0.66×2×1.05/0(.05)2 =724.16 725
Where z=1.96, p=0.34, q=1-p=0.66, d=2, e=0.05, and nr=0.05
12
On the basis of the above calculation, the minimum sample size required is around 725.
However to be on the safer side, the ultimate sample size for women has been decided as
800.
4.2 Study Population/Respondent category
Reducing violence against women requires long-term commitment and strategies including
all segments of the society (men, women, community leaders, service providers, police, etc.).
Working with men/boys to change their behavior is an important part of any solution to the
problem of sexual harassment/violence against women. Raising awareness of men and boys
about negative aspects of sexual harassment/eve teasing and promoting healthy relationship is
important to achieve AAB objectives.
There are two major categories of respondents for the baseline survey- primary and
secondary.

Primary target population: Adolescent girls and women
 (School/college going girls, garment workers, domestic workers, women migrants,
school going mothers, and women belonging to other socio-economic groups).

Secondary target population
 Men
 Boys
In view of time and resource constraints, the number of male respondents (men and boys)
covered for the baseline survey is 50 percent of that of female respondents (i.e. 400 with 200
men and another 200 boys). This implies that a total of 1200 respondents (800 women/girls
and 400 men/boys) have been covered in the baseline survey. The baseline survey was
conducted at different busy locations of the cities- bus stoppage, launch terminal and train
stations (at least 3-4 points), market centres/shopping malls (3 to 4 locations), parks, and
educational institutions.
4.3 Establishing a Methodology for the baseline survey:
Both Quantitative and Qualitative data was utilized. The study employed a range of research
methods (questionnaire survey, FGD and case studies) in order to gather data on the
incidence of and attitude towards gender based violence at public place.
13
The study employed a two-track methodology:
The first tract consisted of analysis of secondary sources of data. An initial review was made
of secondary sources, focusing on existing data on problems of security and gender
violence/sexual harassment at public spaces. An indicative list of the sources of secondary
data is given below:

Documents/reports of donors/AAB;

Documents/reports of NGOs/INGOs;

Reports of research organizations/academic institutions
The second track consisted of primary data collection including:


Questionnaire Survey with Women, Men and Boys;
Key informant interviews (KII) with police, Local govt. and Urban planning
Authority, Transport Authority/drivers/conductors including discussion with
different stakeholders (national actors/Policy stakeholders;

FGDs with community leaders/civil society members, women’s groups;

Case Studies.
4.3.1 Questionnaire Survey/Interview of Women, Men & Boys
Sample Selection
We can divide the social class on the basis of the income-upper, middle and poor.The income
of the upper class is much higher than that of the other classes. On the contrary, the income of
the poor class is the lowest in Bangladesh. For example,
Percent of total income earned by the richest 20% of the population: 42.8%
Percent of total income earned by the poorest 20% of the population: 8.7%
Respondents were selected from three different categories based on household income i.e.
poor, middle and upper income group. According to the latest Household Income and
Expenditure Survey (HIES, 2010), the average monthly household income of urban
population was Tk. 16,477, compared to monthly income of Tk. 9,648 in the rural area. Only
35% of low-income metropolitan inhabitants use hygienic latrines. In Dhaka, only 26% of
slum dwellers use hygienic latrines. Nearly 46% of the households in metropolitan areas
cannot access the health-care services.
14
We have interviewed 1200 respondents representing three income categories as follows:
(i)
Poor/slum dwellers (having monthly income less than Tk 10,000):
representing 40%,
(ii)
Middle income (with monthly income ranging between Tk. 10,000 to 25,000):
40%;
(iii)
Upper income group (with monthly income exceeding Tk. 25,000): 20%
The poorer section was somewhat over-represented, since the AAB project explicitly targets
women from marginalized community-internal women migrants, garment workers, domestic
workers, other vulnerable women. In view of this, we have given more weight to the poorer
segment of the population in the baseline survey.
The data for the present study largely come from the survey of six divisional cities including
Narayangonj city. The samples were selected in consultation with the AAb experts. The
selected cities are Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet, and Narayangonj.
A total of 1200 respondents(800 women, 200 men and 200 boys) were selected from seven
cities as shown in the following table.
15
Table 1: Sample size by city and income category
Division/
No. of
Respondents by income category
Respondents by gender
City
Respondents
Poor/slum
Middle
Upper income
Women and
Men and Boys
category
income
(monthly
girls (15-49
(15-64 years)
(monthly
(monthly
income tk.
years)
income upto
income tk.
25,000+)
tk. 10,000)
10,00025,000)
Dhaka
300
120
120
60
200
100
Chittagong
210
84
84
42
140
70
Rajshahi
120
48
48
24
80
40
Khulna
120
48
48
24
80
40
Barisal
120
48
48
24
80
40
Sylhet
120
48
48
24
80
40
Narayangonj
210
84
84
42
140
70
All
1200
480
480
240
800
400
It is clear from the table that in the process of covering 1200 respondents, we have
interviewed 480 respondents from poor category, another 480 from middle income group and
240 respondents belonging to upper income group.
Key Informant Interview (KII):
Key Informant Interview (KII) was conducted with three groups:
i) Police,
ii) Urban planning authority.
iii) transport operators/authority

Transport authority (BRTA/BRTC)

Transport operators (drivers/conductors).
In each city, there were two KIIs with police, two with transport authority, two with transport
operators and two with urban planners . Thus 8 key informant interviews were conducted in
each city, leading to a total 56 KIIs in the 7 cities.
16
Information was obtained on constraints regarding transport and mobility of women, and
measures needed for improving efficiency of service delivery and related aspects.
4.3.2 Case Study and Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
A one-shot survey is usually deficient in many respects for an understanding of the complex
issues involved with regard to causes and determinants of violence against women at public
space. Thus, a single interview, however in-depth and intensive, may not be able to capture
the interplay of factors which cause or lead to violence at public place. In view of this,
several individual case studies have been prepared for a deeper understanding of the causes
and consequences of eve teasing/sexual violence, and to identify factors that may either
protect or put women at risk of such violence.
A total of 15 case studies have been prepared(with at least one from each city). The case
studies illustrate the range of variations in nature, extent and consequences of violence, and
the strategies and services that women use to cope with violence. Critical incidents that led to
violence/fear of violence, has been explored through discussions with the victims. The role of
police, community and other actors- has been reflected through the case studies and the
strategies and services that women use to cope with violence.
In addition to questionnaire survey and Case Studies, information was obtained through
FGDs. The FGDs were conducted separately with women (poor and non-poor) and
community leaders (including ward commissioners, school teachers, business men, religious
leaders etc). During the FGDs,8-10 participants were asked to give their opinions regarding
safety issues in public place and their perceptions and attitudes towards sexual harassment at
public spaces.
.
Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted with two groups-women’s groups and
community leaders/local elites.
17
FGD with Women:
FGDs were conducted with women belonging to different strata of the community: poor and
non-poor. In each city, one FGD was conducted with poor women and another with women
belonging to non-poor group.

One FGD was conducted in each of the 7 cities with poor women consisting of garment
workers/poor working mothers/domestic help etc (n=7). However, FGDs were segregated as
per criteria and location on the basis of concentration .Dhaka, Chittagong and Narayanganj
are heavily concentrated by garment workers, thus one FGD in each of the three cities were
conducted with garment workers.

Similarly, one FGD was carried out in each of the 7 cities with non-poor women: female
school teachers, school going mothers, housewives etc (n=7).
The FGD with women has provided women with a scope to feel ‘free’ to talk about events
and the strategies they take to avoid, address, or mitigate episodes of violence in their own
and other women’s lives.
FGD with Community People:
In addition to FGD with women, seven FGDs were conducted with community leaders (one
in each city):

Ward members and informal elites (community leader, youth leader, shopkeepers, school
teachers, religious leaders, etc.)

The discussion explored major constraints regarding transport, key issues which lead to
violence and the responses of various actors (police, neighbors, transport authority/operators,
community leaders, etc.).
4.3.3 Qualitative and Quantitative Data interpretation Framework:
Triangulation of Data
In this baseline survey, we have used both qualitative (e.g. FGD, KII) and quantitative (e.g.
questionnaire survey) methods. In situations where availability of numeric data is not
adequate or difficult to organize, we have used qualitative data.
18
Qualitative data (FGD, KII, CS) has been used to supplement quantitative data. Where there
are gaps, non clarity, and /or inadequacy identified from the quantitative survey, an attempt
has been made to address those through purposive qualitative survey. This qualitative back up
of quantitative data is essential for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of safety issues in
the cities of Bangladesh.
Triangulation is a powerful technique that facilitates validation of data through cross
verification from two or more sources. We have used triangulation of quantitative and
qualitative data- the purpose of triangulation is to increase the credibility and validity of the
results. This will allow for triangulation for a better cross match and supplement between
qualitative and quantitative data and to ensure that the different perspectives are understood
and represented in the analysis.
19
Figure 1: Overall approach and methodology of the study
Baseline Survey
Safe City Programme
Study Approach:
Review of Existing
Literature,
Documents & Data
Quantitative Methods:
Purposive Sampling
Qualitative Methods:
Key Informant Interview (KII)
2. Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
3. Discussion with different stakeholders
4. Case Study
Survey of Women/girls
2. Survey of men/boys
3. Secondary Data Compilation
1.
1.
Field Data Collection
Data Analysis & Triangulation
Draft Report
Final Report
20
Dissemination &
Feedback
5. Challenges and Limitations
A major limitation while covering different field areas was the fact that it took unusually
lengthy time in getting the relevant information from some of the locations. There were some
unexpected delays in initiating the field work which were beyond the control of the study
team. Again, there was unusual delay in getting relevant information from some of the
service providers (police, urban planners).As a result, the data processing, analysis, and
report preparation has been delayed.
However, the study team believes that significant information relating to the critical issues of
concern under the present study could be gathered from the field level data collection and
information gathering efforts to draw important conclusions. Logistically, the study was
managed excellently with whole hearted cooperation from the ActionAid Bangladesh, and
other relevant agencies and individual stakeholders.
21
Chapter 2
Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Data for this chapter mainly come from the field survey conducted in seven cities (six
divisional cities-Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Narayangonj
City). As already mentioned, the survey was conducted during mid-May to mid-June 2014
covering a total of 800 women and girls in the age group 15-59 years 200 men aged 18+
years and 200 boys below 18 years .
2.2
Socio-economic Profile of Respondents
Table 2.1 presents the salient characteristics of three categories of respondents-women, men
and boys. Out of 800 sample women, about a fifth (19.7%) belonged to age-group less than
20 years, 40.4 percent was in the age group 20-29 years, one fourth (25.4%) was in the age
group 30-39 years, while 14.6 percent of the women were aged 40 years and over. Similarly,
out of a total of 200 men who were interviewed, one-fifth (20.5%) of them were below 25
years of age, a quarter of them belonged to age group 25-29 years, one-fifth of them (20.5%)
were aged 30-39 years, another one-fifth (20.5%) belonged to 40-49 years, and 13.5 percent
of them were aged 50 years or older. The mean age of women respondents were 28 years,
compared to 34.4 years for men and 16.6 years for boys.
In terms of literacy and education, one-fifth of the women (19.5%) are either illiterate, or
without any formal schooling, 21 percent have completed elementary education with less
than 5 years of schooling. About a quarter of the women (24.3%) have secondary level
education with 6-9 years of schooling, another quarter of them have passed either SSC
(13.5% ), or completed HSC (12.4%) , while 9.4 percent have college level education
(beyond 12th grade). Similarly, 16 percent of the responding men are without any education,
slightly less than a fifth of the men (19%) have primary level schooling, a similar proportion
has 6-9 years of schooling, and 45.5 percent of them have completed either secondary level
education (15%), or HSC (15.5%), or have tertiary level education i.e. beyond HSC level
(15%). The educational pattern of boys is more or less similar with 2.5 percent of them
having no formal education.
Table 2.1: Distribution of Respondents by Socio-demographic Characteristics: By
gender
Respondent category
Characteristics
Women (n=800)
Men (n=200)
Boys (n=200)
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
below 18 yrs
87
10.9
0
0
200
100.0
18-19 yrs
70
8.8
6
3.0
20-24 yrs
143
17.9
35
17.5
25-29 yrs
180
22.5
50
25.0
30-39 yrs
203
25.4
41
20.5
40-49 yrs
112
14.0
41
20.5
50+ yrs
5
0.6
27
13.5
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
200
100.0
Mean
28.0
Age
34.4
16.0
Education (years of schooling)
Illiterate/no formal education
156
19.5
32
16.0
5
2.5
1-5 years (Primary)
168
21.0
38
19.0
41
20.5
194
24.3
39
19.5
74
37.0
SSC
108
13.5
30
15.0
47
23.5
HSC
99
12.4
31
15.5
30
15.0
Above HSC
75
9.4
30
15.0
3
1.5
Up to 5000
50
6.3
11
5.5
9
4.5
5001-7500
137
17.1
34
17.0
30
15.0
7501-10000
133
16.6
35
17.5
41
20.5
10001-25000
320
40.0
80
40.0
80
40.0
25,000+
160
20.0
40
20.0
40
20.0
Overall
800
100.0
200
100.0
200
100.0
6-9 6-9 years
Monthly household income (TK.)
There are major differences in the occupational pattern/activities in which men and women
are currently involved. It appears from table 2.2 that more than half (58 percent) of the male
respondents are engaged in either salaried job (26.5 percent) or business (19 percent), or petty
trading (12.5 percent); 17.5 percent of them are unskilled/wage labor. The occupational
category of females shows a heterogeneous mix of work activities and the corresponding
figure for female respondents is much lower at 8.4 percent (7 percent being involved in
23
salaried job and only 1.4 percent in business or petty trading).About a tenth (9.5 percent) of
female respondents are garments workers, 4.3 percent are working as domestic help, 2.5
percent are self-employed, 14 percent of them are students, while a vast majority of female
respondents are housewives (59.3 percent).
With regard to women’s involvement in income generating activities, it is evident that more
than half of the women are housewives. It needs to be emphasized here that housewives also
do a lot of work including taking care of children, cooking, washing, cleaning and taking care
of household members.
Table 2.2 Distribution of respondent by Occupation group: by Gender
Females (>=15)
Males (>=18 yrs)
n
%
N
%
Service/salaried job
56
7.0
53
26.5
Business
2
.3
38
19.0
Small business
9
1.1
25
12.5
Wage/Casual labour
13
1.6
35
17.5
Self-employed
20
2.5
12
6.0
Garments worker
76
9.5
10
5.0
Housewife
474
59.3
0
.0
Domestic help
34
4.3
0
.0
Student
112
14.0
17
8.5
Others
4
.5
10
5.0
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
Occupation group
2.2.1 Household Income
Monthly income is considered to be an important indicator of poverty. With regard to
monthly household income, the findings from Table 2.1 show that about a quarter (23..4
percent) of female respondents live on a monthly household income, which does not exceed
Tk. 7,500, and about one-sixth of the women (16.6 percent) live on a monthly income
ranging between Tk. 7,501 to Tk. 10,000. Two-fifths (40 percent) of the women belong to
24
households having monthly income ranging between Tk 10,001- Tk.2,5000, by contrast, onefifth(20 percent) of the responding women have monthly income above Tk. 25,000.
Table 2.3 Distribution of Respondents by Economic Categories: by Gender
Economic Categories
Females
Boys (<18 yrs)
Men (>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
N
%
Poor
320
40.0
80
40.0
80
40.0
Middle Class
320
40.0
80
40.0
80
40.0
Upper/Rich
160
20.0
40
20.0
40
20.0
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
200
100.0
Table 2.4: Distribution of Respondents by Social Class: Self Perceptions
Social Class
Female
Boys (<18 yrs)
Men (>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
N
%
Extreme poor
102
12.8
12
6.0
15
7.5
Poor
239
29.9
66
33.0
60
30.0
Middle class
272
34.0
65
32.5
73
36.5
higher middle Class
72
9.0
20
10.0
25
12.5
Higher Class
115
14.4
37
18.5
27
13.5
Others
0
.0
0
.0
0
.0
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
200
100.0
We have another indicator of social class/poverty in which respondents were asked to
categorize themselves in terms of social class vis-à-vis the respondent’s perception of
his/hersocial/economic status. The specific question asked was: “ which social class do you
think your household belongs to?”Five categories of socio-economic class are used:
(i) Extreme poor: (having difficulties in meeting family consumption needs for more than 6
months a year),
(ii) Poor: ( having difficulties in meeting family consumption needs for a significant part of
the year),
25
(iii)Middle Class: (Self-sufficient in food and somehow able to manage essential family
expenses);
(iv) Upper Middle Class:(living in good housing condition with decent income from salaried
job/business); and
(v) Upper Class/Rich: (Belonging to affluent category and leading luxurious life having own
house/flat, etc)
According to self perception of respondents, more than a tenth (12.8 percent) of the women
respondents belong to extreme poor category, 30 percent consider themselves to be poor,
more than two-fifths consider themselves to be either in middle class (34 percent) or in upper
middle class (9 percent), while 14.4 think that they belong to the affluent category. The
ratings by men and boys also show similar pattern.
On the basis of income and asset holding/consumption, we can divide the society of
Bangladesh into above-mentioned classes. Differences among these classes are large. Class
depends largely on economic differences between groups – differences in income and wealth,
possession of material goods and life chances. There are a number of ways to measure social
class and social scientists have different views about how we should measure it. Wealth and
income can be acquired in a number of ways. It is difficult to measure the wealth of the
people in Bangladesh because in most cases people are reluctant to reveal personal
information about their wealth.
2.2.2 Respondents’ understanding of the ‘Meaning’ of Violence at
Public Places
Defining violence is extremely difficult. Part of the problem lies of course in the widespread
and indiscriminate use of terms such as “eve teasing”, “sexual harassment” as synonyms of
violence on the street because specialists would like to make subtle distinction. For our
purpose, violence in public spaces includes behaviour such as: Unwelcome sexually
determined behavior/ Sexually colored remark or gesture , Sexually colored verbal
representation; Demand or request for sexual favors; Showing pornography; Indecent
gesture, teasing through abusive language, jokes having sexual implication, Making love
proposal and exerting pressure or posing threats in case of refusal to love proposal.
26
On the question of their understanding of the meaning of ‘violence at public space’, it is
observed from Table 2.5 that according to the opinion of a vast majority of the both men and
women, the meaning of violence at public places includes such aspects like: ‘eve teasing”/
‘sexual harassment’, ‘derogatory comments’, ‘bad remarks/ sexually colored abusive
language’ etc. The findings imply that most of the respondents are aware of violence at
public places/on the street. However, a lesser proportion of the respondents are of the opinion
that violence at public place also includes other types of abuse like: harassment by bus
driver/conductors, harassment by male passengers, fear of being raped at public places etc.
Most of the women respondents hold the opinion that when they go out for their day-to-day
activities; a woman receives unkind and exploitative behaviour from society at large and
from male members.
Table 2.5: Respondents’ understanding of the meaning of violence at public places
(multiple response)
Respondent’s understanding
Females
of violence at public place
n
%
n
%
Eve teasing/sexual harassment
646
80.8
180
90.0
497
62.1
105
52.5
614
76.8
141
70.5
197
24.6
57
28.5
257
32.1
88
44.0
Harassment by male passenger
156
19.5
26
13.0
Don’t know
3
.4
0
.0
Others
3
.4
3
1.5
Dirty proposal from unknown
person
Males(>=18 yrs)
Derogatory comments/teasing
through sexually colored
abusive language
Being Raped
Harassment by bus
contractor/driver
2.3
Defining Sexual Harassment
27
According to Choudhury (2005), an operational definition of sexual harassment is as follows:
any repeated (depending upon the severity of the act) unsolicited, unwanted, unwelcome
behavior of sexual nature like physical contact or advances, a demand for sexual favors,
sexually colored jokes and comments on appearances, suggestive looks, gestures, showing
pornography, pornographic graffiti, and other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal
conduct of sexual nature like character assassination, spreading rumors that may threaten a
woman’s career/job security, and create an intimidating, stressful and hostile environment
that is harmful to a woman’s physical and psychological health hampering her potentials. Of
these, rape is the most obvious and easily recognizable phenomenon. Indeed, to many people,
the term “sexual violence/harassment” is synonymous with rape.
In reply to the question, “whether the respondent consider eve teasing as violence against
women,’ an overwhelming majority (around 95%) of both women and men answered in the
affirmative (Table 2.6).From Table 2.7 it appears that in all the cities except Narayangonj,
more than 98 percent of the women respondents consider ‘eve-teasing’ as violence, while in
Narayangonj this proportion is 84 percent who consider eve-teasing as violence.
Table 2.6 Whether Respondents consider eve teasing as violence
Whether eve
Female
Men (>=18 yrs)
teasing is
considered as
N
%
N
%
Yes
772
96.5
189
94.5
No
28
3.5
11
5.5
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
violence
28
Table 2.7 Whether Respondents consider eve teasing as violence: by City
Female Respondents by
City
Whether eve teasing is violence (%)
Yes
No
n
%
n
%
Dhaka (n=200)
198
99.0
2
1.0
Chittagong (n=140)
138
98.6
2
1.4
Rajshahi (n=80)
79
98.8
1
1.3
Khulna (n=80)
79
98.8
1
1.3
Barisal (n=80)
80
100.0
0
.0
Sylhet (n=80)
80
100.0
0
.0
Narayanganj (n=140)
118
84.3
22
15.7
All (N=800)
772
96.5
28
3.5
It also emerged during FGDs, Sexually colored remark or gesture , Sexually colored verbal
representation; Indecent gesture, teasing through abusive language, jokes having sexual
implication, is the most common and frequent feature of eve-teasing/sexual harassment
suffered by women. This especially happens on the road, in market places, at educational
institutions.
29
Chapter 3
Type of Harassment/problems faced by women on the Street
Information was collected on type of transport used by respondents and the nature of
harassment faced while on the street is analyzed in this chapter. The ultimate goal of this
chapter is to have an overall impression about the current safety situation for women and girls
in the community. The knowledge generated from the lived experiences of women and girls
is a key source of information.
On an average, females move out 5 days and males move out almost 7 days in a week. A vast
majority of respondents (61 percent of female and around 96 percent of male) are going
outside home almost 6 to 7 days in a week. Therefore, it is evident that relatively lesser
percentage of women is frequent mover as compared to men (Table 3.1).
Table 3.1: Distribution of Respondents by Frequency of going out: No. of Days in a
Week
No. of Days in a Week
Female (N=800) Male (N=200)
One
1.9
.0
Two
5.9
.5
Three
8.1
.5
Four
12.1
1.5
Five
11.0
2.0
Six
36.6
27.0
Seven
24.4
68.5
Mean no. of days in a Week
5.3
6.6
Men and women have different travel patterns which are well recognized considering the fact
that women make shorter work trips, make greater use of public transport and make more
trips for the purpose of serving another person's travel needs. However, there is increasing
convergence in those travel patterns, at least at the aggregate level. Study reveals that while
going out, females and males are using almost similar mode of transport. The most
commonly used transports are rickshaw, local bus and CNG. Besides, a sizeable proportion of
males and females have to walk as a part of their travel to reach their desired destination
(Table 3.2).
Table 3.2: Distribution of Respondents by Mode of Transport used for Travel
Mode of Transport
Females
Males
Walking
91.8
93.5
CNG
31.1
39.5
Rickshaw
79.6
78.5
Local Bus
47.6
47.0
Sitting Bus
12.6
17.5
Laguna/Maxi/Tempo
24.1
15.0
Note: Multiple responses
3.1
Travel constraints faced by Women
Females report facing different type of constraints during travel time that limit their frequent
movement. The major constraints reported by respondents include, “crowded/ difficult to get
into bus”, “bad behavior by Conductor/Driver”, “harassment by Male Co-passenger”, “eve
teasing/ sexual Harassment” and “mugging/snatching of bags” etc. The same set of
constraints is also reported by males when they mention about the barriers faced by women
during travel (Table 3.3).
Table 3.3: Travel constraints usually faced by women: Perceptions of Males and
Females
Constraints Faced
Females (N=800)
Males (N=200)
Crowded/ Difficult to get into bus
68.8
60.0
Bad behavior of Conductor/Driver
62.1
46.5
Harassment by Male Co-passenger
60.4
43.0
Eve teasing/ Sexual Harassment
52.1
51.0
44.9
30.0
3.9
2.5
Mugging/Snatching of bags/valuables
etc
Others
Note: Multiple responses
31
Not only do women face travel constraints but they also face different type of harassments.
The nature and type of harassments differ with the mode of transport. While traveling by
rickshaw or CNG, most of the females (around 66 percent) report that more fare is demanded
when there are only women/children passengers; similar proportion mention that irrespective
of gender of passengers, excess fare is charged by the rickshaw puller or CNG drivers.
However, the highest proportion of women (around 69 percent) mention that they are
subjected to derogatory comments from rickshaw pullers or CNG drivers. Other constraints
include, fear of accident, mugging/Snatching of bags/valuables etc(Table 3.4).
Table 3.4: Type of Harassments faced by women while travelling by Rickshaw/CNG
Females
Type of Harassment
Number (N=800)
%
More fare demanded from women/ girls
523
65.5
Higher fare is demand from everyone
506
63.3
Not willing to go particular places/destination
232
29.0
Derogatory comments *
547
68.5
Fear of accident
287
35.9
Mugging/Snatching of bags/valuables etc
211
26.4
Others
7
0.9
* Note: Sexually colored remark targeted to women/adolescent girls.
3.2
Type of Harassment faced on the Street/in the Market place
While on the street, women face different type of harassments/insecurity. In the street,
passing derogatory comments is the most frequently reported harassment faced by women
(reported by 86 percent). In addition, a substantial proportion of women are subjected to
Sexually Colored jokes/abusive language (reported by 46 percent) , Physical contact/ Sexual
advances/deliberate push (reported by 24 percent) .At the same time, fear related to mugging
and accident also acts as major insecurity for women (Table 3.5). Findings also show that
there is no major variation in the type of harassment faced by women by city, that is, almost
similar proportion of women are subject to harassment across the seven cities.
32
Table 3.5: Type of harassment/ insecurity faced by Women in the street
Number of
Type of Harassment
%
women(N=800)
Derogatory comments/unwanted behavior
689
86.1
Sexually Colored jokes/abusive language
369
46.1
193
24.1
Mugging/Snatching of bags/valuables etc
430
53.8
Fear of accident
311
38.9
Fear of being raped
70
8.8
Mental pressure
292
36.5
Others
7
0.9
Sexual advances/ Physical contact/deliberate
push
Note: Multiple responses
Urban women are subjected to harassment not only in the street but also in the market or
shopping mall when they go out for shopping. During shopping in the market or shopping
mall, women report to have faced derogatory comments either by general people who come
for shopping (86 percent)or by shopkeepers/sellers (68.8 percent). Besides, one-half of the
women (48.9 percent) were subjected to sexually colored jokes/abusive language in the
market place. Fear of mugging also limits women’s free movement in the shopping mallthis insecurity is reported by 78 percent of women (Table 3.6).
Table 3.6: Type of harassment/ insecurity faced by Women in the Market/ Shopping
mall
Females
Type of Harassment
Number(N=800)
%
Derogatory comments by general people
703
87.9
Fear of mugging/ hijacking
624
78.0
Sexually Colored abusive language
391
48.9
550
68.8
15
1.9
Derogatory/adverse comments by
shopkeepers/sellers
Others
Note: Multiple responses
33
Chapter 4
Nature and Magnitude of Harassment Suffered by women
4.1
Magnitude and Frequency of Violence
Women were asked about their experience of sexual harassment/abuse in public place during
last three months. The findings show that an overwhelming proportion of women faced
derogatory/indecent comments–the proportion was as high as 84 percent. It is clear that
women were subjected to different forms of harassment during last three months. As
indicated in Table 4.1A, overall more than half of the respondent women reported that they
suffered “Physical contact/ Sexual advances/deliberate push” during the last three months.
Our FGD findings also show that women were subjected to all forms of harassment: from
ogling, winking, passing comments in the form of sexual innuendos, to touching, groping,
'eve-teasing', stalking, 'prank' calls, display of pornography, threatening and intimidation,
and unwanted 'love' proposals.
Table 4.1A: Women who faced harassment in last three Months: by type of
harassment
Women who faced
harassment
Type of Sexual Harassment
Number
Sexual advances/physical
contact/ deliberate push
Dirty proposal from unknown
persons
%
Average
Number of
harassment
faced
Respondent’s
impression
about the age of
the perpetrator
(years)
455
56.9
4.6
27.8
387
48.4
2.7
31.7
670
83.8
4.7
29.0
6
0.8
1.5
26.7
Derogatory
comments/sexually colored
abusive language
Others
Regarding the frequency of violence it is observed that on the average, a woman in the city
was subjected to sexual harassment (Physical contact/ Sexual advances/deliberate push) 4.6
times during last three months, including 4.7 incidences of derogatory comments, 2.7
incidences of dirty proposal from unknown persons, 2.8 incidences of harassment by bus
drivers and 3.0 incidences of harassment by male co-passengers. In general, the frequency of
harassment suffered by poor women was much higher, compared to women belonging to
middle and upper income group.
Table 4.1B shows the distribution of respondents by city who faced harassment during last
three months. It appears that there is some variation in the frequency and type of harassment
faced by women across the seven cities. From Table 4.1C it is evident that there are some
variations in the frequency and type of harassment faced by women by age of women.
Younger women are more vulnerable compared to women who are aged, which implies that
the chances of facing harassment is reduced with an increase in the age of the women. For
example, three-fourths of the women (75.8 percent) below 20 years of age were subjected to
sexual harassment (Physical contact/ Sexual advances/deliberate push) in last three months,
the corresponding figure was 44.4 percent for women aged 30 years and above.
Table 4.1B: Women who faced harassment in last three Months: by type of harassment
and by City
% Distribution of Female Respondents by City
Type Of
Dhaka
Chittagong( Rajshahi
Khulna
Barisal
Sylhet
Narayanganj
All
Harassment
(n=200)
n=140)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=80)l
(n=80)
(n=140)
(N=800)
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
54.5
74.3
41.3
41.3
61.3
77.5
46.4
56.9
58.0
61.4
10.0
57.5
63.8
46.3
30.7
48.4
91.5
95.7
52.5
98.8
100.0
83.8
60.7
83.8
80.0
.0
.0
.0
.0
16.7
1.9
2.8
Sexual
advances/physical
contact/deliberate
push
Dirty proposal from
unknown person
Derogatory
comments/ sexually
colored abusive
language
Others
35
Table 4.1C: Women who faced harassment during last three months by type of
harassment: by age of women
Experience of violence by age of Women
Type of Harassment
Below 20 yrs
20-29 yrs
30+ yrs
All
(n=157)
(n=323)
(n=320)
(N=800)
%
%
%
No.
75.8
60.1
44.4
455
56.9
54.8
49.8
43.8
387
48.4
96.2
87.9
73.4
670
83.8
0.6
0.9
0.6
6
0.8
%
Sexual advances/physical contact/
deliberate push
Dirty proposal from unknown
persons
Derogatory comments/sexually
colored abusive language
Others
4.1
Place and Time of Occurrence
Respondents were asked to give their opinion regarding the place where they suffered
violence. The findings from Table 4.2 suggest that women who faced sexual harassment
(Physical contact/ Sexual advances/deliberate push), 81 percent of them were subjected to
harassment on the street (while walking or passing through the road), and around one-tenth
suffered/faced harassment at the market place/shopping mall. Similarly, women who were
subjected to derogatory comments/abusive language/dirty proposal, around three-fourths of
them faced this while on the street, and about a tenth were victims at the market place. By
contrast, women who faced harassment by bus driver/conductor, a vast majority of them
(two-thirds) suffered while getting into or getting off from the bus, and one-fifth of them
suffered harassment while they were inside the vehicle. About the specific time of
occurrence, the majority of women faced these problems either in the early morning or in the
evening (after sun set) (Tables 4.2 and 4.3).
36
Table 4.2: Type of Harassment faced by Women in last three months: by Place of
Occurrence
Place of Occurrence
Getting
Type of Harassment
At the
Road side/ into/
Inside the
Bus
while
getting off
vehicle
counter
walking
from the
/bus
/ ticket
bus
n
%
n
Market/
bazar
Public
Park
toilet
Others
counter
%
n
%
n
%
n
366 80.6 8
1.8
18
4.0
9
2.0
278 71.8 21
5.4
15
3.9
16
503 75.1 36
5.4
12
1.8
4
.0
0
.0
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
43 9.5
3
.7
2
.4
5
1.1
4.1
41 10.6
9
2.3 3
.8
4
1.0
25
3.7
75 11.2
10
1.5 3
.4
6
.9
1
16.7 0
0
.0
.0
1
16.7
Sexual
advances/physical
contact (n=455)
Dirty proposal from
unknown person (n=387)
Derogatory comments
(n=670)
Others (n=6)
66.7 0
.0
0
Table 4.3: Type of Harassment faced by Women in last three months: by Time of
Occurrence
Time of Occurrence
Type of Harassment
Sexual advances/physical
contact(n=455)
Dirty proposal from
unknown person (n=387)
Derogatory comments
(n=670)
Others (n=6)
Early morning
Mid day
Evening
Night
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
198
43.5
122
26.8
111
24.4
24
5.3
98
25.3
104
26.9
142
36.7
43
11.1
196
29.3
229
34.2
203
30.3
42
6.3
3
50.0
1
16.7
0
.0
2
33.3
Respondents were asked to give their impression regarding the age of the perpetrators who
are responsible for harassment/violence at public places. According to the opinion of the
37
respondents, most of the perpetrators are either in their late twenties or early thirties (falling
in the age range of 27 to 34 years, the last column of Table 4.1).
In the questionnaire survey, we did not ask the respondents about the occupation of people
(whether students, mastans, adult men) who are the main perpetrators. However, the FGD
participants were asked to give their opinion who are the main culprits responsible for
violence/harassment. The findings from FGD suggest that mastan, drug addict, students,
middle aged men, political cadre are the main perpetrators responsible for violence against
women at public place. However, it also emerged during in-depth interview that a small
minority of garments workers faced harassment from police.
4.2
Respondents’ Opinion about Specific City Areas having
higher Risks
With regard to particular spots in the city where the risk of harassment is higher,
footpath/road side emerged as the most vulnerable spot (reported by 85% of women and
77.5% of men), followed by bus/train terminal (mentioned by 66% women and 63% men),
market/shopping mall ( reported by more than half of the respondents), and park/recreation
centres etc (as mentioned by two-fifths of both men and women).
Table 4.4A: Respondents’ opinion about the particular spots in the City where the Risk
of Harassment is higher (multiple response)
Female (>=15 yrs)
Male (>=18 yrs)
N
%
N
%
Footpath/ road side
681
85.1
155
77.5
Inside the public transport
381
47.6
101
50.5
Bus stop/train station/terminal 529
66.1
126
63.0
Market/ Shopping mall
414
51.8
116
58.0
Park
326
40.8
85
42.5
Others
22
2.8
16
8.0
Places
38
Table 4.4B: Respondents’ opinion about the particular spots in the City where the risk
of harassment is higher: by city
% Distribution of Female Respondents by City
Dhaka
Places
Chittagong( Rajshahi
Khulna
Barisal
Sylhet
Narayanganj
All
(n=200) n=140)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=140)
(N=800)
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
92.0
76.4
83.8
90.0
97.5
67.5
85.0
85.1
52.5
45.0
66.3
22.5
7.5
65.0
60.0
47.6
72.5
60.7
46.3
77.5
62.5
62.5
71.4
66.1
Market/ Shopping mall
44.5
68.6
68.8
26.3
46.3
62.5
47.1
51.8
Park
30.5
42.9
33.8
83.8
83.8
31.3
13.6
40.8
Others
6.0
.7
.0
.0
2.5
1.3
4.3
2.8
Footpath/ road side
Inside the public
transport
Bus stop/train
station/terminal
The findings from Table 4.4B show that the importance of particular location having higher
risk of sexual harassment also varies by city. For example, only a quarter of the respondents
in Khulna mentioned about shopping mall as having higher risk of facing harassment, while
two-thirds of the respondents in Chittagong, Rajshahi and Sylhet mentioned Shopping mall as
a place having higher risk of harassment.
4.3
Respondents’ Opinion about particular time of the Day
having higher Risks
Respondents were asked to give their opinion “at what time of the day the risk of facing
harassment is higher?” In reply to the question, a vast majority of women are of the opinion
that there is no specific time of the day-the risk of facing harassment is always there.
According to the responses as summarized in Table 4.5A, women may face harassment at
anytime of the day (mentioned by 55% of women compared to 28.5% of men). However,
more than a third of women respondents (35.5%) and two-fifths of men( 39.5%) mentioned
that the risk is higher at night.
39
It appears from the findings of Table 4.5B that across the seven cities, there are some
variations about the time of the day when the risk is higher. For example, 70.7 percent of the
respondents in Narayangonj are of the opinion that the risk was higher at night, the
corresponding figure for Dhaka was 41.5 percent.
Table 4.5A: Respondents’ opinion about the time when the risk of harassment is higher
Females (>=15)
Males (>=18 yrs)
N
%
N
%
Day time
75
9.4
64
32.0
At night
284
35.5
79
39.5
Anytime/ Always
441
55.1
57
28.5
Indicator
Table 4.5B: Respondents’ opinion about the time when the risk of harassment is
higher: by City_
% Distribution of Female Respondents by City
Dhaka
Chittagon
Rajshahi
Khulna
Barisal
Sylhet
Narayanganj
All
(n=200)
g(n=140)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=80)
(n=140)
(N=800)
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Day time
13.0
6.4
28.8
2.5
5.0
11.3
1.4
9.4
At night
41.5
32.1
22.5
5.0
17.5
26.3
70.7
35.5
45.5
61.4
48.8
92.5
77.5
62.5
27.9
55.1
Indicator
Any time/
Always
4.4
Negative impact on the lives of Women
Respondents were asked whether sexual harassment or the fear of sexual harassment has any
adverse impact on the lives of women. An overwhelming majority of both women (90%) and
men (92%) think that it has got serious repercussion on the livelihoods and well-being of
women. In the questionnaire survey, we did not ask the respondents to specify about the type
of negative aspects sexual harassment/violence has on their mobility and productivity.
40
Table 4.6A: Whether any negative impact on employment/productivity of women due
to sexual harassment/violence in public place
Whether any negative
Females (>=15)
Males(>=18 yrs)
impact
N
%
N
%
Yes
721
90.1
184
92.0
No
79
9.9
16
8.0
Total
800
100.0
200
100.0
Table 4.6B: Whether any negative effect on employment/productivity of women due to
sexual violence/ harassment in the road: by City
Female Respondents by
City
Whether any negative effect (%)
Yes
No
N
%
N
%
Dhaka (n=200)
199
99.5
1
.5
Chittagong (n=140)
122
87.1
18
12.9
Rajshahi (n=80)
80
100.0
0
.0
Khulna (n=80)
78
97.5
2
2.5
Barisal (n=80)
80
100.0
0
.0
Sylhet (n=80)
65
81.3
15
18.8
Narayanganj (n=140)
97
69.3
43
30.7
All (N=800)
721
90.1
79
9.9
It emerged during FGDs that safety and security are very important issues not only because
they affect one’s mobility but also one’s productivity and sometimes, even life. During FGDs
with community leaders and women’s groups, participants mentioned that due to mobility
risk, boys are sent to far away schools that are good, but girls are sent to schools that are not
as good but are closer to home. Such discrimination affects their current education and future
potential. Because of fear of harassment/violence, women usually return home before dark,
which adversely affects their productivity and empowerment. Many school mothers have to
walk their children to school, as there are no buses that service certain routes, and as such
they cannot perform their household tasks on time.
41
4.5
Strategies normally adopted by women to get rid of
harassment
In response to the question “what strategies are generally adopted by women/families to get
rid of sexual harassment”; the most frequently cited responses included (Table 4.7), :“avoid
going outside at night” (reported by 62.4%), “not going outside alone” (reported by
60%),“avoid visiting specific areas” (mentioned by 47.4%). Other responses include: “avoid
crowded place” (23.8%),“avoid lonely place” (26.9%), “avoid using public transport”
(13.3%), “avoid wearing colorful/fashionable dress” (21..9%), and “carrying equipment for
self defense” (2.9%). However, one- fourth of the women (24%) mention that they do not
follow any strategy because in their opinion nothing will help them, they will have to tolerate
and live with this kind of harassment.
Table 4.7: Strategies normally adopted by women/families to get rid of harassment
Responses by Females
Strategies
N
%
Avoid specific areas
379
47.4
Not going outside alone
483
60.4
Avoid using public transport
106
13.3
Not going outside at night
499
62.4
Avoid crowded place
190
23.8
Avoid lonely place
215
26.9
Not wearing colorful/fashionable dress
175
21.9
Carry equipment for self defense
23
2.9
192
24.0
20
2.5
No need of doing anything/ there is no other
alternative but to tolerate harassment
Others
Most women in our society have been subjected to some form of sexual harassment at some
point in their lives. Women who have to be in public places grimly 'accept' harassment as part
of their daily lives, facing it as soon as they are out of the house. Instead of demanding a
change in male behaviour, women are segregating themselves from their male counterparts,
sometimes by wearing hijab, as a defense mechanism. In spite of this horrific climate, there
42
are no national laws against sexual harassment. Findings suggest that sexual
harassment/abuse is almost ingrained in Bangladesh society.
4.6
Factors Affecting Security in Public place
Respondents were asked to specifically identify: “What are the major factors contributing to
insecurity in public place?”. They identified several risks (Table 4.8), namely: sexual
harassment (mentioned by 47.5% women and 35% men), inadequate street lighting
(mentioned by 39% women and 19% men), no women buses (mentioned by 36.8% women
and 25.5% men), fear of mugging/hijacking (mentioned by 38% women and 58.5% men),
lack of skilled police/inadequate police patrol (mentioned by 34.6% women and 45% men),
and lack of respect for women (as mentioned by 45.1% women and 18.5% men). It was clear
that women perceived these mobility risks more than men. Again, 35 percent men and 47.5
percent women identified eve teasing and harassment by touts as special risks for women.
Personal security risks were mentioned more by men than women- about 59.9 percent men
and 38 percent women identified mugging/hijacking by mastans.
Table 4.8: Respondents’ opinion about the factors contributing to the factors for
insecurity
Factors
Female
Man (>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
Sexual harassment in public places
380
47.5
70
35.0
Not adequate lighting
313
39.1
38
19.0
inadequate number of buses
147
18.4
78
39.0
No bus exclusively for women
294
36.8
51
25.5
Lack of efficient/skilled police
277
34.6
90
45.0
Mugging/hijacking
304
38.0
119
59.9
Lack of respect for women
361
45.1
37
18.5
Weak management of public places
103
12.9
0
.0
Others
33
4.1
22
11.0
Sexual harassment/eve-teasing is the most common phenomenon which occurs in every hook
and corner of the city. It can cause severe mental pressure which results in psychological
trauma. Sexual harassment may result in violence like rape and acid throwing. Girls are often
43
restrained from going to school by parents. Families of the victims sometimes leave an area,
and the ultimate outburst can be suicide. In the year 2005, 6 girls committed suicide due to
fear from eve-teasers (BNWLA 2005).
4.7
Consequences of Sexual harassment/Violence
Many women face impediments in the form of unsolicited sexual advances from students and
even teachers. From unwanted sexual remarks to forced sexual contact, these experiences
cause female students to feel insulted, uncomfortable, angry, and disappointed in their
academic life. In response, students avoid places on campus, drop classes, discontinue higher
education, are forced to get married by their parents, and may even become psychologically
damaged for the rest of their lives.
Despite protests and vigils, sexual harassment of women in streets goes on unabated. Most
common phenomenon is known as ‘eve teasing’, which consists mostly of verbal or gestural
teasing and in some cases even ‘sexual advances/ physical contact”. And it happens in public.
As there is no specific law against sexual harassment— the law enforcers and the society do
not recognize it as a violent act. Most of the time the term itself is a source of amusement, as
the name ‘Eve’ conjures up images of a temptress or seductress. Thus, when women become
victims of sexual harassment, it is not taken seriously by the society or even by the police.
Yet eve teasing/ sexual harassment can be as cruel and as violent as physical assaults. Young
women like Simi Banu of Narayanganj, Farzana Afrin Rumi of Khulna, Rumi of
Fatikchari and Trisha of Gaibanda have taken their lives in order to escape the relentless
sexual harassment by young loitering hoodlums.
4.8
Knowledge and Awareness regarding Important Issues
The shift in development thinking and practice towards people-centered programs and the
participation of people and communities in decisions concerning their own lives is creating
new opportunities for social change and the empowerment of women. Nevertheless, it is vital
to stimulate their awareness, involvement and capabilities further.
Different methods of communication can give a voice to women, thus enabling them to
articulate their own development agenda. Similarly, by fostering the exchange of knowledge
44
and information, communication can stimulate women’s awareness and motivation, allowing
them to take informed decisions on the crucial issues affecting their lives. Communication
can promote changes in attitudes and social behavior and help communities to identify
sustainable opportunities and development solutions that are within their reach.
Respondents were asked about their knowledge regarding laws related to sexual harassment.
About three-fifths of women and four-fifths of men said they know about this. However,
when they were asked to mention the specific laws, it was found that most of them have
vague ideas about laws with regard to sexual harassment (Table 4.9).
Table 4.9 : knowledge of respondents regarding law against sexual harassment (multiple
responses)
Females (>=15)
Males (>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
Yes
492
61.5
159
79.5
No
308
38.5
41
20.5
Whether Knows
If yes, then what are the laws/rules against sexual harassment
Cannot specify
224
45.5
62
39.0
Imprisonment/jail
92
18.7
7
4.4
Severe Punishment
26
5.3
18
11.3
Police Case
7
1.4
9
5.7
Repression of Women and Children Act
138
28.0
64
40.3
Law regarding rape
17
3.5
3
1.9
Law regarding Acid Attack
44
8.9
3
1.9
Dowry Prohibition Act
8
1.6
5
3.1
Trafficking of Women and children
28
5.7
0
.0
Informal court/Shalish
7
1.4
0
.0
In order to make an assessment of knowledge and awareness of respondents towards
development related issues and support services for victims of violence, the present survey
asked questions like:
What are the different services available for victims of GBV. The data (Table 4.10) shows
that more than 80 percent of respondents are aware about the support services. When asked to
mention about type of services, the highest proportion reported “police help (81.6%)”,
45
followed by “legal help of court/adalat(68%)”, health care at govt. health facility (55.9%),
and informal shalish by ward commissioner(46.9%).
Table 4.10 Awareness regarding type of services available for survivors of sexual
harassment/violence
Responses by Females
Whether Knows
number
%
Yes
651
81.4
No
149
18.6
Total
800
100.0
Govt. Healthcare center
364
55.9
Help of Thana/police
531
81.6
Legal help of court/adalot
443
68.0
Informal Shalish by ward commissioner
305
46.9
Local organization/Committee/samity/Club
114
17.5
Women’s Group
98
15.1
NGO
32
4.9
Others
5
.8
If yes, then what are the services
4.9
Measures Needed by the Government to Stop sexual
harassment
Respondents were asked about their expectation of support from the govt. to reduce sexual
harassment in public places. The findings from Table 4.11 show that most of the respondents
want strengthening of security measures ( reported by 88% of both men and women), a
similar proportion mention strict enforcement of existing laws ( reported by 88% of women
and 78% of men), provision of adequate street lighting was the third most important issue (
as mentioned by 72% of women and 45% of men). However, increasing the number of
police/patrol police was mentioned by two-thirds of both men and women, while about half
of women (48.9%) and a quarter of men (27.5%) advocated for new legislation to deal with
sexual harassment.
46
Table 4.11: Measures need to be taken by govt. to stop Sexual Harassment at Public
Places
Females (>=15)
Males(>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
Strengthen Security
706
88.3
177
88.5
Provision of adequate street
lighting
576
72.0
90
45.0
Increasing the number of patrol
police
523
65.4
129
64.5
Strict enforcement of existing
laws
706
88.3
157
78.5
Amendment of existing law/New
legislation to address sexual
391
harassment
48.9
55
27.5
Others
6.1
14
7.0
Suggested Measures
49
4.10 Opinion regarding the steps needed to make Cities Safe for
Women
As emerged from the findings of the present study, most of respondents want to get rid of
harassment/abuse faced in public places. Respondents were asked to give their opinion
regarding the steps needed to make safer cities for women.
The three most important measures suggested by the respondents include: “Strict
implementation of existing laws” (reported by 70% of women as against 74% of men),
increasing the police patrol emerged as the second most important measure (as reported by
53% of women and 47% of men), while “increasing the number of buses/women buses” was
the the third most important measure (as reported by 46.4% of women and 45.5% of men).
Other measures suggested include: new legislation on sexual harassment, adequate street
lightings, and twenty four helpline at the police station(Table 4.12).
47
Table 4.12 Suggestions made by Respondents to make Cities Safe for Women
Females (>=15)
Males(>=18 yrs)
n
%
n
%
561
70.1
149
74.5
New legislation to stop sexual harassment 358
44.8
76
38.0
Strengthen security system in market/park 318
39.8
65
32.5
Increasing the number of patrol police
423
52.9
94
47.0
Increasing the number of bus/ women bus 371
46.4
91
45.5
Constructing useable footpath
161
20.1
44
22.0
Better/ adequate street lightings
293
36.6
65
32.5
124
15.5
76
38.0
39
4.9
16
8.0
Suggested Measures
Strict enforcement of existing laws
Reactivating Police control room/helpline
available for 24 hrs
Others
48
Chapter 5
Experience of Sexual Harassment and Help Seeking Behavior
An effort has been made in this section to understand the type of actions taken by women
when faced with sexual harassment. An interesting finding of the research is that a large
percentage of women (41 percent) reported confronting the perpetrator/culprit in some way or
the other (Table 5.1). This indicates a certain measure of self-confidence among women,
despite their persisting anxieties about security in the city. However, the data also shows that
one-half of the women (49.8 percent) do not do anything when they face sexual harassment at
public places. The findings imply that a significant proportion of women have no other option
but to suffer in silence when they experience harassment.
5.1
Reactions of Women after being harassed
Table 5.1: Reaction of respondents after being harassed
Reaction
Number (N=800)
%
Nothing done/ suffer in silence
398
49.8
Instant Protest
330
41.3
Sought help from nearby people
369
46.1
Informed the family
434
54.3
Sought help from friend
291
36.4
Others
17
2.1
The helplessness of the respondents is further reflected in their responses to the question
“whether they have reported the incident anywhere for remedial measures after being
harassed.” Only an insignificant proportion (15.6 percent) of women who faced harassment
reported the incidents, while the remaining 84.4 percent did not report this any where to seek
redress against the injustice/harassment (Table 5.2).
5.2
Reporting after experiencing sexual harassment
Table 5.2: Whether reported anywhere after experiencing sexual harassment
Females
Whether reported
Number
%
Yes
49
15.6
No
621
84.4
Total
670
100.0
When asked about the reasons for not reporting, the various reasons mentioned by
respondents include (Table 5.3): “Dishonor for the family” (mentioned by 68.9
percent),
“People will look down upon/condescending attitude” (mentioned by 76.3
percent),
“Social stigma” (mentioned by 45.9 percent), “ No benefit from
complaining / no
action taken” (mentioned by 46.5 percent), and “Reporting is a complex procedure”(mentioned
by 27.4 percent). The negative image of police among the public is so prominent that a
significant proportion of women (30.4 percent) said that they do not go for reporting about
their suffering because they are afraid of further harassment by the police.
Table 5.3: Reasons for not reporting after experiencing harassment
Reasons for not reporting
Number
%
((N=621)
Dishonor for the family
428
68.9
People will look down upon/condescending
474
76.3
Social stigma
285
45.9
No benefit from complaining/ no action taken
289
46.5
Reporting is a complex procedure
170
27.4
Fear of further harassment by police
189
30.4
attitude
*Multiple responses.
5.3 Places where Complaint was made
The survey reveals an acute lack of trust in the police by women respondents. Out of the 49
respondents who reported the incident of harassment, 30 of them (61 percent) went to
50
thana/police, while a much larger proportion (91.8 percent) reported to local
leaders/influential persons/ ward commissioners etc (Table 5.4). A lesser proportion went to
the police because they feared trivialization of the incident/issue by taking some form of
token actions only, rather than any effective steps to their violation. Since Local
Matbor/influential person and Ward commissioner plays an important role in handling issues
related to sexual harassment, for an overwhelming majority of respondents their only
recourse is this kind of informal sources/arrangement instead of legal action (the FGD
findings also support this).
Table 5.4: Place where reported after experiencing harassment (Multiple responses)
Female respondents
Place where reported
Number (N=49)
%
Local Matbor/ influential person
45
91.8
Thana/police
30
61.2
Court/ adalot
10
20.4
Ward commissioner
31
63.3
Local Organization (Association/Club/samity)
15
30.6
Women’s Group
2
4.1
NGO
4
8.2
5.4 Outcome of reporting sexual harassment
Respondents were asked about the outcome of reporting after being sexually harassed.
However, respondents have mixed feelings about the result after reporting. Only 43 percent
of those women who complained about harassment got some results/remedial measures,
while 57 percent of them did not get any result whatsoever after making a complain (Table
5.5).
Table 5.5: Whether got any result/action after reporting
Female respondents
Whether Got any Result/action
Number
%
Yes
21
42.9
No
28
57.1
Total
49
100.0
51
Respondents who got some results/actions were asked whether they are satisfied with the
outcome. The respondents who reported about getting some result after their complain, most
of them are found to be reasonably satisfied about the outcome (63 percent), around 16
percent being highly satisfied, while 21 percent are not satisfied at all (Table 5.6).
Table 5.6: Respondents who got some results, whether they are satisfied with the
outcome
Female respondents
Whether Satisfied with the results
Number
%
Highly Satisfied
3
14.3
Reasonably satisfied
13
61.9
Not Satisfied at all
5
23.8
Total
21
100.0
The respondents who reported about the incidence of harassment but did not get any result
were further asked about the reasons for not getting any result. The reasons as given by
women include:“Case given less importance( reported by 85.7 percent)”,“powerful
perpetrators/criminals (reported by 75 percent)”,“Difficult to prove/lack of evidence ( mentioned by 67.9
percent)”,“Huge Cost involved ( reported by 39.3 percent)”,and
“lengthy process” ( reported by 25 percent
(Table 5.7).
Table 5.7: Reasons for not getting any result after reporting
Female Respondents
Reasons for not getting any result
Number (N=28)
%
Case given less importance
24
85.7
Powerful perpetrators
21
75.0
Difficult to prove/lack of evidence
19
67.9
Lengthy procedure
7
25.0
Huge Cost involved
11
39.3
Others
2
7.1
*Multiple responses of 28 respondents who did not get the result.
52
5.5
Image of Police in public eye
The respondents were asked whether they have ever witnessed the police taking any action
against sexual harassment cases at public places. The evidence from Table 5.8 shows that
vast majority of the women (87.4 percent) have never witnessed any measure being taken
by police in the event of occurrence of sexual harassment at public space. The respondents
were further asked whether they would ask for police help in the event one of their family
members/friends being subjected to sexual harassment at public place. The findings as
presented in Table 5.9 show that merely 19 percent of women respondents answered in the
affirmative, while the remaining 81 percent said that they would never approach the police
for help in the event of sexual harassment cases at public places. The main reason behind this
is lack of trust in police.
Table 5.8: Whether the respondent has witnessed police taking any action against
sexual harassment cases at public places
Females
Whether any police action taken
Number
%
Yes
101
12.6
No
699
87.4
Total
800
100.0
Table 5.9: Whether the respondent has ever thought of asking for help from police in
case of sexual harassment at public places
Females
Whether thought of taking police help
Number
%
Yes
150
18.8
No
650
81.3
Total
800
100.0
53
5.6
Barriers in Accessing Services
With regard to access to services, respondents were asked whether one has to face barriers in
the process of seeking help from the police. An overwhelming majority (95 percent) of the
women felt there were many obstacles which hinder them in approaching the police. (Table
5.10).
Table 5.10: Whether there are problems while seeking help from police
Whether Problems in seeking
Female
help
Number
%
Yes
760
95.0
No
40
5.0
Total
800
100.0
Regarding type of problems, the respondents were asked ‘what are the barriers/type of
problems people face while seeking help from the police’. The responses are summarized in
Table 5.11. About two-fifths (64.9 percent) of the respondents believed that the police would
blame the women rather than taking actions against the perpetrator and more than one-half
(57.2 percent) believed that the police would take the complain lightly and would not
prosecute the perpetrator. Similarly, more than one-third (36.6 percent) said the police would
merely perform a token service by recording the incident with no further action, and another
one-half are of the opinion that there would be no result from the complaint (53 percent),
about a quarter of the women are afraid of going to thana/police, while 12 percent of women
believed that there is the risk of further harassment by (Table 5.11).
54
Table 5.11: Type of problems /barriers usually faced by women in seeking help from
police
Females
Problems
Number (N=760)
%
Blaming of the women
493
64.9
Take the complain lightly
435
57.2
Afraid of going to Thana/police
210
27.6
Lengthy and complex process
135
17.8
No result from complaining
403
53.0
278
36.6
Dishonor for self and family
142
18.7
Risk of further harassment by police
94
12.4
Others
45
5.9
Police just record the case/incident, but don’t
take any effective step
5.7
Community awareness/response to sexual harassment
The respondents were asked what would be their reaction if they themselves witness other
women or girls being harassed in public places. Four-fifths (80.1 percent) of women said they
would try to help the victim, a similar proportion (81.1 percent) said that they would request
other people to come forward for help, while half of the women (49.9 percent) said they
would approach the police. However, a fairly large percent (15.6 percent) would prefer not to
get involved in this type of unpleasant things, they will just ignore/keep silent (Table 5.12)
Table 5.12: What would be the reaction of respondents in the event of a woman/girl
being harassed at public space (multiple response)
Females
Reaction of Respondent
Number (N=800)
%
Will assist the victim
641
80.1
Will request other people to help
649
81.1
Will call the police
399
49.9
Won’t do anything/ better not to get involved
125
15.6
Others
23
2.9
55
Respondents were asked to give their opinion about the “reaction of community/ nearby
people in the event of a girl/woman being harassed at public places”. The responses, as
summarized in Table 5.13, show that one-half of both women (50.6 percent) and men (50
percent) are of the opinion that nearby people will remain silent preferring not to be involved
in such situations and would keep themselves away. However, slightly less than a half of both
women (48.3 percent) and men (48 percent) are of the opinion that nearby people will come
forward to help in the event of a woman being harassed at public place and they will support
the victim by resisting the culprit/perpetrator, while 23 percent of women and 31 percent of
men are of the opinion that nearby people will call the police for help.
Table 5.13: Respondents’ opinion about what would be the reaction of nearby people in
the event of a woman/ girl being sexually harassed at public places
Reaction of nearby People
Female (>=15yrs)
Male (>=18 yrs)
Number
Number
%
(N=800)
%
(N=200)
Will remain Silent/No
405
50.6
100
50.0
386
48.3
96
48.0
Would take it as a fun/ enjoy it
298
37.3
78
39.0
Come in a group to protest
334
41.8
90
45.0
Will Call the Police
185
23.1
62
31.0
Others
23
2.9
9
4.5
Response
Will resist the
perpetrator/culprit
56
Chapter 6
Focus Group Discussion and Case Studies
Section A: Findings from Focus Group Discussion
A total of 21 FGDs were conducted: 7 with women belonging to poor group, 7 FGDs with
non-poor women and another 7 FGDs with community leaders. There were 8-10 participants
in each of the FGDs. Open questions and answers formed the main areas of discussions. The
discussion was initiated by briefly explaining the context: what are the constraints faced by
men and women in public spaces, what is the attitude of males/ community people toward
violence in public place, nature and extent of harassment faced by women/girls, etc.
A.1 Issues emerged
The following issues emerged from the FGDs:

Women are working outside the home in larger numbers, but they
often have fewer livelihood opportunities and they face various
problems when they go outside their homes

Women face constraints with regard to their access to public transport,
and they enjoy very little autonomy while they travel.

Sexual Harassment/ abuse against women is widespread.

Women also face insecurity in the event of making complains against
violence

Some of the girls/women endure extreme insecurity on their way to
workplace/schools/shopping place
A.2 Problems regarding Security
When FGD participants were asked to specifically identify: “What are the mobility risk for
women while traveling?” They identified five risks, namely: accidents, fear while crossing
the road, mugging/hijacking, eve teasing and harassment and difficulty to get on to
bus/crowded bus. It emerged during FGDs that women perceived these mobility risks more
than men. Road Accident is considered to be the major risk for both men and women.
However, more women than men identified eve teasing and harassment by touts as special
risks for women. Two major issues were featured under this category: personal security and
accidents. Those walking to work are more prone to sexual harassment and accidents than
those using buses/rickshaw/CNG.
A.2.1 Cultural Constraints
Cultural constraints become less when women are employed in gainful jobs. The cultural
constraints of commuting as obtained from FGD are: (1) women are often not allowed to get
in the crowded buses because women cannot get a seat as men often occupied women’s seats,
(2) bad behavior of transport operators, co-passengers and pedestrians, and (3) eve
teasing/sexual harassment of young women commuters. Laughing at and making indecent
remark by local touts is also a widespread cultural constraint.
A.2.2 Institutional Constraints
Among the commuting constraints, institutional constraints had the largest and widest gender
dimension to commuting. Institutional constraints has been grouped into following three
groups: accessibility, security and affordability constraints. Furthermore, accessibility
constraints have been grouped into following groups: (i) general access constraints, (ii)
transport access, and (iii) pedestrian’s access constraints.
A.2.3 Accessibility Constraints
Except for general accessibility constraints, all other constrains are more important for the
dissatisfied female commuters as compared to male commuters. Thus gender dimension of
commuting constraints is conspicuous. Most of these constraints remain even when women
are employed and when they move to a higher income group. Moreover, except general
accessibility constraints, all other commuting constraints were perceived significantly more
by employed women than their male counterparts. Accessibility constraints are perceived as
reasons for dissatisfaction by a large number of both male and female FGD participants.
General accessibility constraints include congestion, unplanned and poor traffic system,
crowdedness, narrow roads, one way roads, dirty and damaged roads and streets, potholes on
the roads and streets, unplanned car parking, air pollution, sound pollution etc.
(i) General Accessibility Constraints.
General accessibility constraints include congestion, unplanned and poor traffic
system, crowdedness, narrow roads, one way roads, dirty and damaged roads and
streets, potholes on the roads and streets, unplanned car parking, air pollution, sound
pollution etc. Male participants/ community leaders reported all types of these
constraints more than female participants. Significantly more male participants than
female participants reported the constraints of congestion as the dominant reason for
58
their dissatisfaction regarding the present transport system in City. Thus, this
constraint has positive gender dimension. The only general constraints, which has
distinct negative gender dimensions are, dirty and damaged footpaths/lack of
footpaths/potholes/lack of foot over bridge. When compared with the situation in the
past, participants mentioned that all these general constraints, particularly congestion
and air pollution has increased significantly overtime.
(ii) Transport Access Constraints.
Gender dimension of accessibility constraints become more conspicuous when the
modes of commuting are taken into consideration since constraints of accessing to
different modes of commuting are different. More male commuters than female
commuters mentioned constraints affecting access to motorized transport, which
consist mainly of bus transport as the main reasons for their dissatisfaction. Crowded
buses/shortage of buses has ranked topmost as transport accessibility constraint for
both men and women. This is followed by pedestrian’s constraints. Although women
rank shortage of rickshaws as their third problem, but men rank too may cars on the
road as the third constraints. Non-motorized transport include mainly rickshaw, cycle
van and walking. Shortage of rickshaws and unwillingness of the rickshaw pullers to
go due to ban on main roads etc., were the main accessibility constraints for nonmotorized transport and significantly more women than men suffered from both
these constraints.
Participants also mentioned that due to rickshaw being off-road, middle-income group
women have changed their travel mode to bus ‘braking the cultural barrier’ of female
seclusion. It has also been mentioned that sitting bus services, with too much of congestions
are not affordable for low-income groups.
Walking as the dominant mode of mobility for the residents living in the slums is losing its
importance. Dirty and damaged footpath, potholes, and lack of FOB, mugging and
kidnapping are the main constraints of pedestrians. Majority of the FGD participants are of
the opinion that over the last ten years, not much has been done in the City in terms of
construction of new footpaths, widening and cleaning of footpaths, construction of foot over
bridges, adequate street lighting etc. All these have a negative impact on making commuting
by walking comfortable. Commuters perceived there has been no improvement in security
59
while walking, as there has not been any appreciable decline in mugging, harassment and
kidnapping.
A.2.4 Safety and Security Constraints
Lack of safety and security of travel is a major constraint, which affect female commuters
much more significantly than male commuters. Safety and security are very important issues
not only because they affect one’s mobility but also one’s productivity and sometimes, even
life. A relatively low percentage of male respondents are affected by the safety/security
constraints of travel. More women than men perceive almost all types of safety/security
constraints, including unsafe crossings, mugging, eve teasing/harassment etc., as constraining
their mobility. Unsafe road crossings constitute an important safety constraint for both men
and women. Eve teasing/harassment is reported to be a travel constraint solely for women.
A.2.5 Affordability Constraints
Affordability constraints included higher fare of bus, auto-rickshaw and rickshaw. All these
fares have been rising steadily overtime. Recently, the government has increased bus fare
after hiked price of fuel by a huge margin. But the bus operators are asking more fare than the
rate fixed by the government. Under such circumstances, affordability is a severe constraint–
as high fare of rickshaw affected women more severely than men. Although higher bus fares
affect the largest percentage of women commuters, the difference between the effects on
female commuters and male commuters is the worst in case of higher rickshaw fares.
A.3 Voice of FGD participants
The FGD participants mentioned that transport facilitate mobility and thus results in women’s
empowerment. According to the participants, women are empowered if they could move
freely without obstacle; but they could not do so due to the lack of security. Improvement and
maintenance of roads are important, as it affects women’s health. Physically, women are
more disadvantaged than men. Their reproductive health is also jeopardized by the bad road
conditions, especially when pregnant women use rickshaws. Pollution affects women more,
as fewer resources are spent on women in families for health. After illness, care is also
lacking, so women are also more affected by pollution than men.
The FGD participants mentioned that the transport patterns of males and females are different
since the same advantages do not exist for males and females in our society due to social
cultural religious, historic and other reasons. Women need to think about when they will go
out, what mode they will use, how long it will take to commute, how they will get back, how
60
long it will take to get back, etc. Women often face severe harassment while waiting for
transport, boarding and getting off from bus.
Due to mobility risk and insecurity, boys are sent to far away schools, but girls are sent to
schools that are not as good but are closer to home. Such discrimination affects their current
education and future potential. Because of fear of insecurity, women usually return home
before dark. Women travel shorter distances via rickshaw due to lack of good
sidewalks/footpaths. Taxi-cabs/CNG auto-rickshaws are often unwilling to go, they charge
double or triple fare if passengers include children. Weather and traffic are both factors that
affect the time it take the RMG workers including other law paid workers to get to work or
return home. Damaged roads and sidewalks filled with hawkers make the commute more
difficult for them. Many school mothers have to walk their children to school, as there are no
buses that service certain routes, and there are often no suitable sidewalks to commute either.
Bus routing is also very difficult for those who travel far to send their children to school, as
they have to switch buses to get to their destination.
Most of the FGD participants mentioned that differences exist in travel patterns between
women and men, majority felt that there should be reserved seats for women on buses,
especially given the socio-cultural background of the country. A few participants even were
willing to consider the option of having women only buses on certain routes, especially
during peak travel time. Some mentioned that women travel less at night due to security
concerns.
Most of the FGD participants are of the opinion that bus conductors/helpers frequently harass
women. Citizens could play an important role in improving transport and mobility by
increasing their awareness, maintaining discipline in walking and avoiding jaywalking.
Behavioral change of all stakeholders is required. Sidewalks are very important for low
earning groups. Smooth pavements and streetlights ensure safety and security. The middleincome group that could afford rickshaws prefer using them and are not used to walking.
Those who walk in general cannot afford rickshaws. Mobility could be improved by quality
footpaths, with sufficient width, which are environment friendly with sufficient light and
security/ police patrol. Law enforcement is a must to improve security and to keep vendors
and muggers off the roads. Awareness campaigns are necessary and so is enforcement at
intersections.
61
On the issue of access, safety and security in transport, the FGD participants mentioned that
the existing system is not access-friendly for women. Security points are lowest in the
transport system for women, the system does not support comfort or security of women and
affordability depends on the income group of women. Road planning must be done first
instead of last. People build houses first, and then the city corporation comes in and builds
roads. Urban planning and transport planning needs to be coordinated.
Travel Constraints Faced by Women in the City: motorized Transport
Cultural Constraints
Institutional Constraints.
 Women do not travel in crowded bus Lack of access to bus services
 Inadequate bus services
 Behavior of driver ad conductors are
not women friendly
 Information on bus timing and routes
are lacking
 Commuters have to get down from
running bus
 Long waiting time and long queue
 Women are considered as slow
 Infrequent women only bus services
movers.
 Infrequent stoppages
 Women take more space as culturally
 Lack of bus sheds
men and women do not sit side by
 Bus has one door and conductor
side
stands on the door
 There are few reserved seats for
 Seats by the side of the driver are too
women and often men do not leave
hot
these seats reserved for women
 No bus for schools/colleges
 Buses refuse to take women when the
 No transport facilities at
reserved seats are occupied
work/factories
 Women only buses are unsuccessful
Lack of affordable transport
as women often traveled with male
 Women and men who cannot afford
escort.
to travel by motorized vehicle have to
 Conductors do not want to give
walk
change and hence women are charged
 CNG/ auto rickshaw charges high
more
price, especially for short distance.
 Conductors usually put a hand at the
Time constraint
back of a woman while alighting
 Due to high transport cost mothers
from the bus.
wait at school and cannot perform
their multiple role productively
Lack of safety
Personal security
 Crowded buses are unsafe more for
women than men
 Drivers and conductors are not gender
sensitive
Road safety
 Drivers compete with each other
which causes accidents
 Drivers lack training on regulations.
62
Travel Constraints Faced by Women in the City: Non-motorized Transport
Cultural Constraints
Institutional Constraints.
Institutional Constraints
 Women got deliberate push by
Lack of access
men while walking
 Footpaths are absent
 More than half of the garment
workers/low paid workers and
 Footpaths are narrow, dirty and occupied
students faced harassment by
 Secondary road (lanes) are full of potholes
local touts while walking
and are uncomfortable
Lack of affordable transport
 Rickshaw charges higher fare for short
distance
 Low income men and women cannot
afford Rickshaw/CNG
Time constraint
 Walking is a time consuming mode
 Foot over bridges are a detour and time
consuming mode
 Due to higher transport cost mothers wait
at school and cannot perform their multiple
role productively
Lack of safety
Personal security
 Physical safety is a major issue for women
while commuting
 Commuting by non-motorized mode at
night are considered unsafe by both men
and women
 Women and girls do not use foot over
bridges (FOB) as they are inconvenient and
unsafe.
 Underpasses are unsafe for both men and
women
 Pedestrians and commuting by rickshaws
on secondary roads are more prone to
mugging
 Lack of street lights on secondary roads
(lanes) causes mugging
Road safety
 Frequent digging of road and footpath due
to lack of coordination among government
agencies causes inconvenience/accidents
 Lack of pedestrian crossing (zebra
crossing) causes accident
 School vans are unsafe for children.
63
According to the FGD participants: A safe city for women and girls is a city where women
and girls can enjoy public spaces and public life without fear; a city where there is no fear of
violence/harassment on the street; a city where women and girls can move freely (and
without fear) for going to schools/colleges, or travelling to their office/ work place, visiting
market places, etc.
Empowerment
Safety on the street facilitates mobility and thus results in women’s empowerment. All
respondents agreed that safe city empowers women as it gives women the ability to travel
alone, the ability to choose mode of travel (rickshaw, scooter, cab or bus) and ability to
choose travel time. They could decide on their own, which facilitates their empowerment.
They could go to the hospital to see ill people, visit relatives, go to schools, office, etc.
According to women FGD participants, women are empowered if they can move freely
without obstacle; they would not do so if there is lack of security.
Safe city / Safe urban areas imply - women have easy access to all public facilities and
women can move and live without fear of sexual harassment in both public and private
spheres. There is a strong legal, political, social and cultural commitment and assurance to
ensure a violence free city.
It emerged during group discussion with both women and community groups that their safety
can be ensured through ensuring security in living place and on the street where there are no
disturbances in road, no eve teasing, no verbal abuse, no unwanted touching, no rape etc.
64
Section B: Findings from Case Studies
Selected Case Studies
To explore the problems and harassment women face at public places and to reveal the
underlying causes/reasons, we have prepared several case studies of women belonging to
different socio-economic classes based on our in-depth interview and intensive fieldwork. We
shall present as case studies the experiences of a few women/girls belonging to different age
groups and having different occupations. All the case studies are based on major happenings
as they occurred to the women. Information provided by the girls/women was sometimes
crosschecked by discussing with other people to ensure validity and reliability of the
information provided. With this introduction, we shall present our case studies one by one.
Case Study 1: Rajia had to stop going to school because of sexual harassment
Amena, a garment worker in her early forties, spoke about significant violence in the form of
verbal abuse and sexual harassment that her daughter had been exposed to in the past. Rajia,
Amena’s daughter, is a young girl of 16 years of age . She completed fourth grade at the
primary school but had to stop her studies because of sexual harassment by a notorious boy
from the same neighborhood. Now she is working with her mother in the same garment
industry.
Amena informed that her daughter was very good at study. Her grades were satisfactory in
each class. When she entered class four, one of the boys from the locality started disturbing
her- in the form of following her wherever she goes and making lewd jokes whenever he got
a chance. One day the boy stopped Rajia on her way to school and told her that he was deeply
in love with her and he wanted to develop affair/relation with her. It was so shocking and
embarrassing for Rajia that she came back home and informed her mother about this. Amena
talked to different sections of local people and learnt that the the perpetrator was wellknown in the locality as a kind of mastan who always ran after girls and had been responsible
for abusing/harassing several girls in that locality.
Amena got really concerned after hearing this and talked with the head of the slum for a
solution. He assured Amena that he would look into the matter but nothing visible happened
as the boy’s father was quite rich and influential. Hence, nobody dared to take any stand
against the boy fearing retaliation from his father.
Then Amena and her husband sent Rajia to her grandmother’s house from where she started
going to school again. Things were going on smoothly for a few days but within a month
after leaving the locality, Rajia figured out that the boy was following her again at her
grandmother’s place. Rajia informed her mother about the recent developments and the type
of insecurity she had been facing. Then her parents decided to take her back home and she
was not allowed to go to school again. With tears in her eyes, Amena said:
My daughter had to stop going to school for no fault of her own. She was
doing fine academically but we had to withdraw her from school because of
harassment/abuse by the son of a powerful local man. We were afraid of her
security and nobody did anything to help us and our daughter.
Rajia is now working in the garment factory with her mother. Amena maintains that now she
feel relieved about her daughter and there is no worry and anxiety about her daughter’s
safety. Her daughter is now working with her and Amena is relieved of the constant anxiety
and fear about her daughter’s safety.
When asked whether she sought help from local elites or police, she said initially she
knocked at every door for justice-the ward commissioner, local leaders, influential people-but
nobody came forward when they came to know about the boy’s identity. With regard to
police help, Amena maintains:
The police never does anything for the poor, they are always with the rich and
the powerful. I don’t have money or connections, so the police will not take
our case seriously. Moreover, if the boy’s family knows that we have gone to
the police for help, they will make our lives miserable. Thinking of possible
repercussions from the boy’s family, we have abandoned the idea of going to
the police. Because, in Bangladesh justice is negotiable, if you can’t give
bribe, you won’t get justice.
Amena put forward the suggestion of setting up an informal community group, some kind of
‘Watch Dog’ Committee in each area which will take appropriate action at the community
level in the event of abuse/harassment of girls/women. This will work as a pressure group and
the perpetrator will face pressure from different tiers of the community.
66
Case Study 2: Sexual harassment on the way to tutorial home
Saleha, a teen-aged girl from Barisal, a student of intermediate first year, narrated her
experience:
One evening I was going home from my tutor’s house. Normally my brother
or other male relative accompany me whenever I leave home or come back
from the tutor’s house. But on that day no one was there with me. I was alone,
the sun was about to set and there were not many people on the street.
However, there were some boys who were joking amongst themselves and
giving me furtive looks. I became afraid and was passing by them slowly. They
started uttering dirty words including obscene body movements. But I just kept
mum and walking slowly.
Then suddenly one of the boys stood up, came to me, he put his arms around
me and said, “ Hi, sweat heart! You are the prettiest girl in the world. This
made me really angry. I shouted at him for holding my shoulder and told him
to behave himself. I was shocked because that happened really suddenly .I felt
bad and so uncomfortable standing on the footpath. I was so stunned, I did not
know how to react.
But the boy gave a damn to my anger and became really nasty. He said,
“I want to marry you”..I was so stunned, I did not know how to react. I felt bad
and so uncomfortable standing on the footpath. I was really afraid and
politely told him to remove his hand from my shoulder.
The other boys were enjoying my harassment and they started laughing at me.
Finally, the boy let me go and I left the place being embarrassed and
humiliated. I did not tell anybody about his except my mother. My mother
became really concerned and told me not to share this with anybody else.
After that I never went to the tutorial home alone, if there is no one to
accompany me, I avoid going to to the tutorial home.
Case Study 3: School going mother being harassed on the way
Farida, a good looking woman in her late thirties, goes to her daughter’s school by bus. After
dropping her daughter at the school gate, she comes back home to perform her household
tasks. Farida described her unpleasant experience as follows:
One day when I was returning home by bus, a man with spotted face and
67
suspicious look was trying to push me from the back. The bus was over
crowded and there was no seat available, although the ladies’ seats were
occupied by male passengers. I was standing with other male passengers and
the notorious man tried to push me hard, I had nothing to do but to endure it.
Because there were so many standing passengers, nobody would listen to my
complain. After a short while I got down from the bus. But to my horror I
found that the man also got off from the bus. Initially I thought that it might
be his destination also but then I noticed that the man was, in fact, following
me.
It was during 8 am and there were many people on the road. So I stopped,
looked at the man and asked him “What is your problem? Why are you
following me?” The man said, “nothing to be worried about, he just wanted to
have my phone number so that he could talk to me anytime he wanted. I was
shocked and surprised at his audacity and told him to leave the place
immediately, or otherwise, I would call the police and complain against him.
But the man did not seem to be concerned at all; he said that he had not done
anything bad, the police won’t take it seriously and he cannot be implicated.
Farida maintains:
Sometimes I have to wake up as early as 5 am to prepare breakfast, wake up
my daughter and get her ready, and leave home by 6-30 am so that we can
reach my daughter’s school on time ( her classes begin at 7-30 am). I am
always afraid of risks of rape and sexual harassment when I leave home for
my daughter’s school.
68
Case Study 4: A Poor woman, a petty trader, being harassed while in the bus
Latifa, a young woman of 30 years of age, who is a petty trader in Khulna shared her
experience in the following words:
I have to travel by bus every day. The bus is always crowded and most often I
have to sit with male passengers. One day I sat beside a man aged about 45
years. Within minutes, the man put his hand on my leg and gave me a piece of
paper containing his cell number. I did not say anything but gave him a blank
look. But he gave a damn to my anger and tried to push me and touch my
breast and other sensitive parts. I told him to stop these nuisance and shouted
at him. But he did not utter a single word as if nothing had happened. Other
passengers who were around me could easily understand what was happening
and why I was angry with him. But neither any passenger said anything, nor
did the bus conductor came forward to help me. The overall attitude of others
was that it was none of their business, because they had not been affected
personally. I was really shocked at the indifferent attitude of other passengers.
Both Latifa and Farida maintain:
The absence of legislation and the laxity in implementation of existing
legislation affects our life. Women like us constantly face various kinds of
sexual harassment in public places like streets, markets, parks, bus stops and
on different public transports. Harassers are male travelers, as well as drivers
and conductors. Although the problem of sexual harassment is widespread, the
community in general does not take it seriously and has a tendency to ignore
this. It is considered as a normal part of city life, and people in general have
an indifferent attitude towards eve-teasing/sexual harassment at public
places.” There is an urgent need for raising community awareness against
normalization of sexual harassment at public places.
69
Case Study 5: A Garment worker being subjected to violence/harassment on the street
Salma, aged about 22 years, a garment worker, narrated her story as follows:
One day when I was returning home on foot after doing my overtime work at a
garments factory at Shewrapara, I was stopped by two young men on my way.
It was about 10 pm. They reached me and asked me why I was there. I told
them that I am returning from my work. I had only Tk. 50 in my purse. One of
the men brought out the money from my purse and kept the money in his
pocket. I did not dare to protest against it because I was taken by surprise. I
politely told them to return my money. But they became ferocious and said that
they won’t let me go, rather they would have fun and spend the night with me.
Before I could understand anything, one of them caught hold of my hand and
asked me to walk with them. It was a terrifying experience, I did not
understand what to do and to make matters worse the footpath was lonely with
inadequate lighting. When I said I won’t accompany them, they started
pushing me, tightly holding my hand. I thought of shouting and calling the
public, but immediately I abandoned the idea, because I was afraid they might
have knives/razor/weapon with them. I was about to collapse.
Then suddenly I saw one of my cousins crossing the road. I started shouting,
calling his name. He looked for me, I raised my other hand. My cousin saw me
and started coming towards me. In the meantime, the two criminals turned me
free and left the place quickly. But before that they lashed my back twice and
threatened me they would teach me a lesson next time if they found me alone.
Since then, I have abandoned that footpath, especially at night; the horrifying
experience is still haunting me.
70
Case Study 6: A Garment worker being abused/harassed by police
One garment worker, Sabiha, aged 19 years , said:
The police mistreat the garment workers most. One day a policeman wanted to
rape a garment worker . When she refused to go to bed with the police, then
she was arrested by the police on charge of being engaged in prostitution and
alluring clients for sex trade. This is how the police, with the help of their
uniform, exploit and abuse poor girls like us. The police in general mistreat
the garment workers, but mostly the teen-aged girls. However, some
policemen are good and they do not mistreat us. But their proportion is quite
insignificant. The majority of the police are devilish in nature and they abuse
us, want our phone numbers and scold us whenever we refuse to yield to their
demand for physical relation.
Case Study 7: A street girl being abused/harassed by police
One street girl, Moyna, aged about 17 years, who is a flower seller said:
One day when I was selling flowers near the Parliament house (Sangsad
Bhaban), a police constable made me run and warned me not to sell flower
there any more. When I tried to argue with him, he asked me to give him Tk.
20. The police allowed me to continue my work as a flower seller when I
agreed to pay the police Tk. 20 everyday.
With utter disgust, the girl continued:
The police are in fact damned venal. Every day they take a bribe of Tk. 20 like
tax from every street grocer in and around Sangsad Bhaban. We pay them
because we don’t have any other alternative. If we refuse to pay them the
bribe money, they will harass us in all possible ways or implicate us in false
cases.
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Case Study 8: A domestic help being abused/harassed by mastans/drug addicts
One domestic help, Bilkis from Rajshahi, who is in her late thirties, has been facing sexual
harassment and other form of violence from different sections of people. She described her
experience in the following words:
Once when returning home from my master’s house in the evening, I was
accosted in the street by a man, who was a complete stranger. Before I could
understand anything, he embraced me and started kissing. In a low voice he
said he would give me Tk. 200 if I go to bed with him. When I started shouting
for help, the man left me and ran away. It was so terrifying and shocking, I
generally avoid that road when I am alone.
Bilkis has been subjected to other type of violence, as she maintains:
One day I was returning home from my employer’s house. It was about 8 p.m.
But a gang of four persons/drug addicts near the station caught me. They
snatched all the money (Tk. 100) I had with me. I told them that I was badly in
need of the money, I would buy rice and vegetables for myself and my
daughter but they did not return the money. I had to go home empty handed,
and my daughter had to starve.
Case Study 9: The story of a rape victim
Rabeya, a garment worker in Dhaka, narrated the story of her friend Golapi, a recent
migrant to the city, who was raped on her way to the cinema hall.
Golapi wanted to go to the cinema hall to watch a movie during night show
(which starts normally at 9 pm). She found a rickshaw puller who wanted to
take her to the cinema hall. But after a short while, Golapi discovered that she
had been deceived by the rickshaw puller. Instead of taking her to the cinema
hall, the rickshaw puller took her to his residence in a nearby slum, and along
with two of his friends, raped her several times throughout the night. She was
physically hit when she tried to protest and finally she was released before
dawn.
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Rabeya continued:
Golapi did did not complain to anybody about the incidence, because she
knew that it won’t bring her any result; rather it would make her life more
difficult because people would laugh at her and tease her on the ground that
she was a a rape victim. With no one to help her, nowhere to complain and no
one to fall back upon, she spends her days in utter despair. Her present is
shattered and future is bleak. She doesn’t aspire for anything, life is totally
meaningless to her after that fateful night.
B.1 Summary Findings from Case Studies
There are hundreds of Farida, Latifa, Golapi, Moyna and Salma in different cities of
Bangladesh. These are just a few names. The case studies are not stories but realities of life,
not for these women only but for the majority of women in Bangladesh to a lesser or even
greater extent. The case histories give insights into the life-worlds and the dynamics of the
hardship and deprivations faced by women at public places. Without any support from the
society and govt. they have to struggle constantly for their survival, working tirelessly to eke
out an existence.
From the different case studies it appears that a woman/girl falls victims to all kinds of sexual
abuse/harassment on the street. The condition of a poor girl/woman is much more vulnerable
than that of her counterpart who is rich. A girl/woman is doubly disadvantaged, she is
abused/harassed by the perpetrator and also she is likely to be blamed by the society and
community.
Fear of being robbed, mugged and physically injured is a major concern expressed by women
participants. In all the seven cities women are afraid of being attacked in footpaths and back
streets/lanes, especially after sunset. Women of all ages and class are afraid of being abused
or attacked by young men/ drug addicts/mastans and even by middle aged males. Frequently
they face derogatory comment/lewd jokes, insulting and abusive language, most of it sexrelated.
It emerged during FGDs and case studies that the main victims of sexual harassment are girl
students, squatter women and those who work in the informal sector. Many of them have to
travel on public transport or on foot daily for their livelihoods and sheer survival. They face
harassment and violence on buses, mini-buses and other forms of transport. It was observed
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during FGDs and case studies that some of the women who suffered harassment have even
changed their schedules. For example, some women have stopped work or working during
the night shift and some of the girls have changed the schools, courses and even abandoned
going to school due to the fear of sexual harassment on the street.
But the harsh world of women is portrayed by the fact that not all women/girls would like to
give up going out of home due to fear of violence/sexual harassment. Because women/girls
have no other alternative but to go out in connection with their work, schooling, health care
and other pressing needs. Ignoring the fear of sexual harassment or the risk being
abused/harassed, they would rather attend classes, go to work place, have recreation, meet
friends ignoring the fear of insecurity. Their need is so overwhelming for them that the ever
present risk of sexual harassment/ insecurity by itself has no meaning. It is just another way
of getting used to live with insecurity and fear of violence in a harsh environment.
From the FGDs with women it emerged that they are frequently harassed and abused by local
touts/mastans including the police. The FGD participants maintain that service providers,
especially the police, usually mistreat the garment workers/other low paid employees,
although few of them are good and exceptional. Most of the garment workers who
participated in the FGDs said:
The touts/mastans, some of the derailed students, even grown-up adults,
including middle aged males misbehave with us/harass us and other low paid
female workers on the street whenever they get an opportunity. They make
derogatory/lewd comments, laugh at us, and harass us in all possible ways.
The consensus in the FGDs with women (supported by evidence from case studies)
was:
The drug addicts, derailed youths, school drop-outs and the mastans/political
cadres are our biggest enemies. They are the worst exploiters and main
perpetrators. Frequently, they snatch away the money we get after a month’s
of hard work. They make love proposal, asks for our phone numbers, want to
go out to watch movies, and most often want to have physical relation. They
make our life like hell. We are always afraid of them- our mobility is
restricted, our productivity is hampered, our sleep is disturbed, and we cannot
enjoy our city life-because we are always afraid of our security.
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Some of the FGD participants maintain:
We are abused/harassed by anti-social elements for no fault of our own.
They continued:
We are not terrorists, drug addicts, or smugglers. Then why should they
abuse us and harass us? They have no right to behave inhumanly with us.
But considering the harsh reality and general attitude of the society, there is virtually
no option left for the women but to be tolerate/endure such violations of human rights.
One participant mentions:
How long a man of flesh and blood can tolerate this? The government should
take immediate steps to stop these oppression and take appropriate actions
against the perpetrators.
One garment worker who was harassed and abused several times, expressed her anguish in
the following words:
None but the mastans/police mistreat us so badly. They abuse the poor
working girls most. They want the working girls to be obedient so that they
can use their bodies any time they want for sexual purpose. They harass us
and sexually abuse the girls whenever they get an opportunity. We are always
afraid of being sexually abused either by the mastans or by derailed youths,
school drop-outs, or even by the police.
B.2 The culture of blaming the Victims
Although the problem of sexual harassment is widespread, it is not openly acknowledged.
There is a strongly held belief in certain quarters that women ‘provoke’ violence and
harassment by their own behaviour and actions.
During an FGD with community leaders at Rajshahi, one of the participants (imam of a
mosque) said:
To avoid harassment on the street, women/girls should rethink their way of
life, including changing their dress-up. Most of the young girls while going to
school or college or office put on fashionable/ultra modern dress and
consequently boys/young men are easily tempted/attracted and they start
throwing abusive language, most of it sex-related . So, it is the women who are
to blame for their own suffering.
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The Imam continued,
I often go out with my wife and daughters-their faces covered under burqha,
nobody ever made any derogatory comments towards my wife and daughter.
So, it is mainly the dress-up and life style of young/modern girls for which they
suffer sexual harassment and abuse.
However, most of the participants in the FGD maintain:
It is up to the girl or woman to decide abut her dress-up while going out. They
have every right not to wear burqha while out of their homes. The majority in
the FGD participants are of the opinion that nobody has a right to harass or
abuse a girl/woman on the street irrespective of whether she maintains purdah
or not.
B.3 Concluding Remarks
Sexual harassment comes in all forms, and in all spheres of a woman's life. From ogling,
winking, passing comments in the form of sexual innuendos, to touching, groping, 'eveteasing', stalking, sending lewd text messages, 'prank' calls, display of pornography,
threatening and intimidation, acid attacks, and unwanted 'love' proposals. Most women in our
society have been subjected to some form of sexual harassment at some point in their lives.
Women who have to be in public places grimly 'accept' harassment as part of their daily lives,
facing it as soon as they are out of the house. Instead of demanding a change in male
behaviour, women are segregating themselves from their male counterparts, sometimes by
wearing hijab, as a defense mechanism. In spite of this horrific climate, there are no national
laws against sexual harassment at public places.
Needs of women and girls for safety have to be understood from a rights perspective and the
focus must be on right to mobility rather than restrictions on women. A ‘safe city for women’
implies:
•
Freedom from violence and harassment, including the fear of violence on the
streets;
•
Safe public spaces where women and girls can move freely, without fear of
assault;
•
Freedom from sexual harassment and abuse in the work place.
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•
Women and girls have a right to enjoy the streets, parks, marketplaces and
neighborhoods of their city, not just for work but also for fun.
•
Women and girls should not be harassed when they are out. And the State is
accountable for ensuring opportunities for women and girls to enjoy their city.
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Chapter 7
Discussion of Major Issues and Recommendations
7.1
Violence against women at public Places
Violence against women in public place is a critical human rights and public health problem
in the country. But violence against women in public space is widely accepted and eve
teasing is often seen as a failure of women in disciplining themselves in terms of free
movement and dress-up etc. The ill-treatment and abuse, exploitation and eve teasing they
experience is a manifestation of society's low regard for girls and women. The situation is
further aggravated by the fact that society as a whole tolerates, even accepts violence at
public place.
Traditional cultures contain their own norms of what women's lives should be; frequently
norms of female modesty, deference, obedience and staying within the confines of home. The
prevailing notion is that women who suffer problems on the street are directly responsible
and it is of their own making. It is up to the women to efficiently or effectively manage their
mobility by observing purdah and being properly dressed. They continue to be labeled
depending on their choice of dress while violence and harassment is frequently normalized in
public spaces restricting women’s mobility and security.
In Bangladesh, Moreover, data remain limited, and little is known by way of communitybased research about the magnitude and patterns of violence at public space. Even less is
known about its consequences on women's lives and their physical and mental well-being. It
should be mentioned here that eve teasing/sexual harassment is just one part of violence at
public place, women are persistently insulted, or subjected to continuous intimidation or
verbal aggression, on their way to work place, shopping mall, school/college etc.
Development is about the protection of the human rights of the concerned population. It presupposes active participation of the populace in the decision-making processes while social
justice remains one of the most important and cherished goals of development. However,
people continue to be marginalized on the basis of class, religion, ethnicity, color and sex.
Discrimination and exploitation on the basis of gender constitutes a serious issue which
effectively means that half the human race is unable to realize its potential and condemned to
sub-optimal standards of existence. Women's access to education, health, employment and
political spaces is severely affected. However, one of the most serious impediments to
women's development in Bangladesh is the phenomenon of continuing and increasing
violence against them, including at the public spaces. Needless to say, this constitutes a
serious violation of women's human rights. Violence against women is one of the most
significant, yet little understood and acknowledged factor, instrumental in the phenomenon of
marginalization of women in the development process.
Violence against women is considered a violation of human rights. The Bangladesh
Constitution has given equal rights to women. Article 27 of the Constitution says, "All
citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law". The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, to which Bangladesh is a signatory,
guarantees women's rights. It states, "All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reasons and conscience and should act with each other in a spirit of
brotherhood".
But contrary to these laws and declarations, violence against women continues at an alarming
rate in Bangladesh, as in many other developing countries. A large percentage of available
data on violence against women locates public spaces, next to the family, as a major cause of
repression. Eve teasing/sexual harassment, problems related to urban transport and fear of
being raped are some of the major forms of violence against women at the public place.
In the context of the Bangladesh, violence against women takes different pictures in urban
areas and the cities. There is a greater mobility of women and girls in the city. Girls go
outside for schools, college and universities, women work at office/factories and on the street,
women also go outside for shopping/recreation many other purposes. However, the cities
have become very insecure ,especially for women. Women experience urban life differently
from men, including levels of fear and types of violence. These women and girls are facing
number of problems including sexual harassment in public places. Besides, there are other
problems in cities that are contributing towards making a city unsafe and unsustainable for
women and girls.
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7.2
Harassment faced by Women
Safety and security are very important issues not only because they affect one’s mobility but
also one’s productivity and sometimes, even life. More women than men perceive almost all
types of safety/security constraints, including unsafe crossings, mugging, eve
teasing/harassment etc., as constraining their mobility. Eve teasing/harassment is found to be
a travel constraint solely for women. For example, FGD participants mentioned that:

Women got deliberate push by men while walking

More than half of the garment/low paid workers and girl students faced harassment by
local touts while walking

Behaviour of drivers and conductors is not women friendly

Buses refuse to take women when reserved seats are occupied (by men)

Conductors do not want to give change-hence women were charged more

Conductors usually put a hand at the back of a woman while alighting from bus

Rickshaw/CNG charged higher fare from women

Due to higher transport costs mothers waited at school and could not perform their
multiple role productively.
7.3
Women and security
The human security discourse not only widens the notion of security, emphasizing
sustainable development, social justice, human rights, gender equality and democracy, but
sees people’s security as threatened by violence against women at public places. Indeed,
feminist scholarship holds that the modern notion of ‘human security’ as opposed to national
security, has evolved from the comprehensive approach adopted by peace researchers,
especially those who identify themselves as feminist peace researchers [Stephenson 1999].
Women’s experience of providing for day to day human security, gives them more
comprehensive and integrated perspectives on what constitutes security. Arguably, because
women make up a disproportionate share of the economically disadvantaged they are likely
to be more sensitive to the issue of security.
Both economic and civil security is a function of class, community, caste and gender in south
Asia. Democratizing the security discourse is essential to redefining security and formulating
policies aimed at achieving freedom from want and freedom from fear. Feminizing the
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security discourse, not only brings in that half of the population which has been excluded but
also taps new perspectives located in women’s experience of providing for day to day human
security, and thus their more comprehensive and integrated perspectives on what actually
constitutes security. It is essential to the process of redefining security and power. The
assumption being that there is a gendered notion and praxis of security and power.
There two underlying hypotheses: women’s experience of (in) security is different from that
of men and therefore women’s notions of security and power are different. Arguably, then
women would bring to the security discourse perspectives and praxis which could make a
different in the search for less violent and socially constructive security interlocking
questions,
(i)
Do women, look at issues of security, identity and power differently than men?
(ii)
Is the difference essentialist?
(iii)
How do we get the structurally marginalized-women, redefine and reshape security
agendas?.
In the present research, we have attempted to engage with some of these questions. In
addressing the issue of safe city, inevitably we stray into focusing on situations of insecurity
in urban life. The focus has been on women’s experience of ‘insecurity’ including eve
teasing/sexual harassment faced in their day to day life in the cities..
The term ‘safe space’ has different meanings to different people. However, in general it
implies women’s poor access to public transport, violence/harassment faced by women on
the street, at market place or in public transport which contributes to women’s restricted
mobility due to the fear of sexual harassment/violence.
7.4
Consequences of Sexual Harassment/ Violence
Violence against women forms the core of gender-based inequalities, with far-reaching
consequences for women’s development and well-being. This is clearly expressed in
paragraph 117 of the Beijing Platform for Action: “.... The fear of violence, including
harassment, is a permanent constraint on the mobility of women and limits their access to
resources and basic activities. High social, health and economic costs to the individual and
society are associated with violence against women. Violence against women is one of the
crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into subordinate position compared
with men.” (United Nations, 1996)
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Sexual harassment/violence can cause enormous psychological suffering to victims, most
often seen in the form of anxiety and depression. It can also severely restrict their capacity
and desire to participate in social and economic life. The cost of violence-related damage to
significant numbers of young females is a slower pace of development at personal, family
and national levels.
From the intimate, emotion-filled conversation during FGDs and case studies with women
belonging to different socio-economic groups, two patterns emerged regarding insecurity in
public places. First, despite all the efforts by the government and the NGOs to improve the
situation of women, sexual harassment/eve teasing remains deeply ingrained and results in
women’s heightened insecurity. Second, when women are abused and are in stress, there is
very little help either from the community or the State.
7.5
Violence against Women and Human Rights
Development is about the protection of the human rights of the concerned population. It presupposes active participation of the populace in the decision-making processes while social
justice remains one of the most important and cherished goals of development. However,
contradictions do remain as a result of various processes, not only among nations at a global
level, but also significantly within sections of population, within a country. People continue
to be marginalized on the basis of class, religion, ethnicity, color and sex.
Discrimination and exploitation on the basis of gender constitutes a serious issue which
effectively means that half the human race is unable to realize its potential and condemned to
sub-optimal standards of existence. Women's access to education, health, employment and
political spaces is adversely affected due to continued violence against women. However, one
of the most serious impediments to women's development is the phenomenon of continuing
and increasing violence at public spaces. Needless to say, this constitutes a serious violation
of women's human rights, instrumental in the phenomenon of marginalization of women in
the development process.
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7.6
Sexual Harassment and the Laws in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Constitution has given equal rights to women. Article 27 of the Constitution
says, "All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law". The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, to which Bangladesh is a signatory,
guarantees women's rights. It states, "All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reasons and conscience and should act with each other in a spirit of
brotherhood".
If we go through the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, then it would be clear
that it declares both women and women equal rights and to participate equally in every public
sphere as mentioned in Articles 27, 28 (1,3,4) and 29 (1). There is not a single specific definition
of women’s private sphere security and violence. It is important to clearly and specifically as to
what should be regarding public places issues and what should be for private instead of stating in
a more general way. Although the Constitution is committed to ensure women’s legal justice
equally like men it did not declare any specific section regarding violence against women and
their safety. In terms of Nari-O-Shishu Nirjaton Ain (Suppression of Women and Children Act)
2000, it described sexual harassment in section 10 (ka). In terms of Acid Control Prevention Act
2002 and Acid Control Act 2002, there is not a single section regarding this issue of safe city,
rather both the Acts described about the punishment and procedure of judgment. To make a safe
city, women’s mobility is required and, in fact, a priority need. Fear of harassment on the street
can reduce women’s participation in public places. The City Corporation Law, 2009 mention the
safety issue of citizens briefly on first chapter, clause (37), which states that, “ if any person
commit crime, such as stealing, pick pocketing, stabbing, killing or rape then that person should
be punished under the law of Penal Code 1860”. There is no specific section that particularly
speaks about prevention of violence against women and protection of women in public place.
Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 ensures women’s reproductive rights by taking necessary regulation
in chapter four “Maternity benefit”. Furthermore, chapter six deals in general about safety issues
in the sphere of women’s labor. Bangladesh Labor Law needs to focus on a highly intensive
position regarding sexual harassment at work places and surroundings of work places. There are
some significant scopes to incorporate safety issues in detail to reduce sexual crime in public
places.
Offences of violence against women are codified in the general criminal law, that is, the
Bangladesh Penal Code 1860 (BPC). Since the early 1980s, the government has initiated
legislative reform geared towards criminalizing certain forms of violence against women
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such as the Dowry Prohibition Act 1980 (DPA) and the Suppression of Violence against
Women and Children Act 2000 (‘the 2000 Act’). These laws have addressed the phenomena
of acid attacks, kidnapping, trafficking and rape, including custodial rape – but not sexual
harassment or domestic violence (except where relating to dowry demands, or concerning
marital rape where the victim wife is aged below fifteen). Hossain (2009) has reviewed
these laws extensively as given below:
Rape: Rape is defined under the Penal Code as sexual intercourse by a man with a woman
against her will, or without her consent, or with her consent when her consent has been
obtained by putting her in fear of death or hurt, or with her consent when the man knows he is
not her husband but she has given consent because she believes him to be the man to whom
she is lawfully married, or with or without her consent when she is under fifteen years of age.
The punishment for Rape includes imprisonment up to a term for life, and a fine (unless the
woman raped is his own wife and is not under thirteen years of age, in which case he may be
punished with imprisonment for two years, or with a fine or both).
Sexual Harassment: There is no specific offence of sexual harassment in the Penal Code
1860, however there are several provisions under which charges could be brought. This
includes offences of ‘assault or use of criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or
knowing it to be likely he will thereby outrage her modesty’ (punishable by a term of up to
two years and/or a fine), and ‘any word, sound or gesture/ intending to insult the modesty of a
woman or intrude upon her privacy (punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or a
fine or both). In practices these sections are seldom if ever evoked for the purposes of
addressing sexual harassment.
In a special judgment by the High Court on 25.01.2011 and 26.01.2011 on Sexual violence
heard on 12.01.2011 suggest to take steps to emphasize sexual harassment. The steps include
a proposed amendment to the Nari-O-Shisho Nirjaton Daman Ain 2000 by incorporating a
new section “10 Ka. Penalty for Sexual Harassment” after the existing section 10 —
proposing thereby a definition of a separate offence named ‘Sexual Harassment’ as well as
punishment of one to seven years’ imprisonment and fine for committing the same. The
report, in particular, refers to another step taken by the government through inclusion of
section 509 of the Penal Code 1860 in the Schedule to the Mobile Court Act, 2009 — thereby
empowering the Executive Magistrates to punish the offenders / eve teasers on the spot.
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7.7
Concluding Remarks
Violence against women is a widespread and growing problem in Bangladesh. It takes many
forms and occurs in all settings: at work, in the home, in streets and in the community at
large. However, a large percentage of available data on violence against women locates
public spaces as a major cause of repression. Sexual harassment/eve teasing on the street, at
market places, in public transport are some of the major forms of violence against women at
public places. While state parties are obliged to protect and promote women’s human rights,
they are also accountable for rights violations by non-state actors.
Women’s fear of violence restricts their movement, limiting their use of public spaces, their
movement from their homes and as a result, their full enjoyment of a range of human rights.
Insecurity and the threat and reality of violence prevent women and girls from participating
as full and equal citizens in community life. Women and girls have a “right to the city.”
When this right is not realized, women and girls face significant obstacles to educational,
economic, and political opportunities.
The right to the city is the right of all city inhabitants, especially poor people, to have
equitable access to all that a city has to offer and also to have the right to change their city in
ways that they see fit.
The findings of the study show that the absence of access to quality services such as public
transport, streets and street lighting, electricity, housing and living conditions, health services,
food and water. Working in violence against women means addressing the root causes of
violence against women, including patriarchal power structures and unequal power relations
between men and women.
7.7.1 Reasons for Failure to Check violence at public places
In spite of legal measures and support services by GO and NGOs, violence at public places is
still increasing due to reasons such as:

No law to deal with sexual harassment;

Social tolerance of violence at public places;

Cultural tendency to accuse the victims instead of the culprits;

Financial and social obstacles of women in seeking justice;

Complicated and lengthy legal process;
85

Ineffective implementation of laws;

No proper and timely prosecution of the culprits;

Lack of gender sensitivity in dealing with cases of violence by police and judicial
authority;

No change in deep rooted values, beliefs and attitudes towards women;

Lack of political commitment of the leaders. VAW is not yet included in the agenda
of political parties manifesto.
To curb down violence at public places and ensure safe city for women in Bangladesh,
administrative, social and economic measures are necessary in which the Government,
political leaders, donor communities, NGOs, women’s organizations, human rights
organizations and other members of civil society need to contribute. Again, the community is
needless to say, the most important institution as far as violence at public places is concerned,
both as the cause of the problem and the arena in which solutions are found.
In view of the above, the following aspects need to be given adequate consideration for
effectively addressing the issue of violence at public places:

Changes in the mindset and attitude of people to remove disparity and discrimination
against women. It is the males who are mainly responsible for violence at public
places. So they should be sensitized at first to prevent violence and to change their
mindset;

Government must strongly deal with various forms of violence at public places.
Exemplary punishments must be enforced for certain cases. At the same time, speedy
trials and non-bail able cases should be dealt with severely;

Effective implementations of existing laws are necessary. Human rights activists and
women’s organizations should act as pressure groups for proper implementation of
laws, amendment of existing laws/ enactment of new laws, and timely disposal of all
cases;

The victims of violence must be encouraged to break the silence, to speak up about
their experiences;

All personnel in position of authority in the judiciary and police force should have
gender sensitivity training. Without this, women’s access to justice will not be
improved.
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The laws are there but the processes and mechanisms involved in accessing justice are either
weak or lacking in capacity or law enforcing agencies are corrupt and biased. Girls and
women shy away from asking for legal help and justice as they experience even more
harassment on the process. Many girls and women bear the pain (of eve teasing) and shame
(of rape and sexual harassment) in silence, in the fear of losing the family or being thrown out
of conjugal home or school.
7.7.2 Recommendations
On the basis of our findings from quantitative and qualitative data, the following
recommendations are made for making cities safer for women:
1. Gender based violence at public spaces is a major violation of women’s human rights
but in Bangladesh sexual harassment/eve teasing is not recognized as a criminal
offence. There is no separate legislation that deals with sexual harassment. This
requires a separate law altogether. We would strongly recommend the following:
Amendment of existing laws or Enactment of new laws so that offences relating to
Sexual harassment/ abuse can be dealt with. NGOs were directly involved in
drafting the Domestic Violence Act with the aim of incorporating international
standards regarding domestic violence. A working group consisting of representatives
from several NGOs, women groups and legal specialists may prepare a draft for this.
2. The services for victims of violence range from providing direct services to raising
awareness, mobilizing support, advocating for policy changes and lobbying at different
levels for adoption of laws that are sensitive to the needs of women. Interventions to
address VAW are traditionally characterized in terms of three levels of prevention:

Primary prevention– approaches that aim to prevent violence before it occurs.

Secondary prevention–approaches that focus on the more immediate responses to
violence, such as pre-hospital care, emergency services or treatment for victims
with physical or sexual assault.

Tertiary prevention–approaches that focus on long-term care in the wake of
violence, such as rehabilitation and reintegration, and attempts to lessen trauma or
reduce the long-term disability associated with violence. We recommend that
Victims need to be provided with direct support, counseling including legal
aid from the police, health, judiciary and Human Rights Groups.
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3.
Agencies working for women should try to protect the interest of women
victims by providing support services. These include the provision of shelter,
economic support and legal assistance for women victims on the one hand,
and active prosecution perpetrators on the other.
4.
The issue of violence at public place should be included in school curricula, at
all levels, from primary to tertiary and vocational training. The educational
curriculum should not only be gender-sensitive but should encourage
discussions at a very early age about equality between sexes in all matters.
Both the print and electronic media can play important roles and instead
of picturing stereotypical roles of men and women, they can promote
more balanced and healthy perceptions of male-female relationship.
5.
Socio- cultural reasons and legal loopholes are sources of violence against
women. Appropriate measures should be taken in this regard. There is also an
urgent need to raise awareness regarding women’s rights to safer cities.
Education and mass media can play an important role in this regard. Some
form of counseling for men and Boys is needed to raise their awareness on
human rights. Community education efforts—directed to women, men and
family elders—must forcefully convey (i) women’s right to safe city and
(ii) the likely consequences of violence against women at public space
women and children.
6.
The Govt. should take appropriate and effective measures to to deal with complains
regarding violence cases. Frequency of police patrol should be increased by
increasing the size of police force. There should be a Sexual Harassment and
Prevention Cell at the police station to deal with sexual harassment cases.
We would also recommend the following:

The justice system, whether it is the local police station or the law courts, must be
equally accessible to women and it must be just.

Mechanisms for voicing grievances should be in place and accessible to the most
poor and excluded women.

Needs of women and girls regarding public services and safety have to be
understood from a rights perspective and considered in planning processes. The
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focus must be on right to mobility rather than restrictions on women.

Streets must be crime-free and policing should be sensitive and efficient. Crime-free
neighbors and streets reflect the commitment of governments to the right to the city.

Gender training should be made mandatory for service providers, be they government
employees or private providers, and also for the employer. Gender-sensitization and
training should be provided to police personnel, public transport workers, and health
providers.

Police patrols and immediate responses from police to women’s complaints of
violence were identified as inadequate. Training of police personnel should focus
especially on breaking gender stereotypes and providing sensitive services to women
who have faced violence, including women with disabilities.
The above measures, though not exhaustive, could contribute towards making safer cities for
women. As women’s health, security, life and indeed that of families and society are at stake
and undermined by the existence of violence at public place, all of us must refrain from
invoking tradition, to avoid working towards the elimination of gender violence in the
community and at public places.
It is clear that if women are to attain justice in society it is necessary that the structures of
subordination are transformed – i.e. changes in laws, civil codes, enforcement of existing
laws, labor codes, social and legal institutions that under-write male control and privileges.
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