Women of Bangladesh forced to marry their rapists
In Bangladesh society, women and minor girls that are victims of sexual assault are ostracized and often have their cases ignored. Many victims grow frustrated with the lengthy and unprecedented time it takes to deliver justice to their rapists. The rapists then take the opportunity to marry their victims to escape potential punishment.
Ain-O-Salish Kendra is a legal aid and human rights group out of Dhaka. The group reported 1,413 rape cases in 2019 and 1,728 in 2020.
The hellacious number of cases mixed with nationwide protests over the years ultimately prompted the government to change the maximum punishment for rape from life in prison to the death penalty in 2020.
Some would assume this would deter the perpetrators and drastically reduce the number of cases. Yet in 2021 a total of 1,321 women were victims of rape and gang rape. Of these, 40 were killed after rape, and nine committed suicide.
Source: persecution.org
