Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"In its latest report, titled ‘The Persecution Continues: Minority Communities Under Sustained Attack in Bangladesh’, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) recorded 505 incidents across 62 districts and all 8 divisions of Bangladesh between January and April 2026. The report mentioned that these incidents included killings and suspicious deaths, physical assaults, kidnappings, sexual violence, attacks on temples and religious institutions, land grabbing, arson, looting, intimidation, and blasphemy-related persecution. According to HRCBM, these incidents are not isolated or localised events but reflect recurring patterns of violence, intimidation, sexual abuse, land dispossession, religious attacks, mob aggression, and institutional protection failures affecting minority communities across the country" (para 1-3). “[The HRCBM...more

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi human rights organisation... [documented] at least 3,679 incidents affecting the Hindu community from January 2013 to September 2021, including vandalism, arson, and targeted violence. The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance claim the violence has continued into 2022, with reports from that year alone including 154 people from minority communities killed and 39 women raped" (para 8).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-3

"Despite rape under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act being a non-compoundable criminal offence, social forces push for these coerced marriages. Family members, village arbitrators, and even magistrates sometimes enforce marriages “to preserve dignity” and avoid court proceedings. This effectively allows rapists legal and social forgiveness, punishing survivors instead. One survivor’s tragic story from Sylhet in 2023 underscores this: a rape-induced pregnancy led to a forced marriage; instead of safety, she endured beatings, forced abortion, abandonment, and had to flee to protect her child" (para 3-4).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-LAW-4

"A Supreme Court lawyer has filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking directives on the government to ban the practice of marrying rape victims to their rapists — saying that it normalises sexual violence. Advocate Md Rakibul Hassan, a resident of Sirajganj, submitted the public interest litigation today, arguing that such marriages undermine the rule of law and perpetuate the culture of impunity for heinous crimes like rape. In his petition, Rakibul requested the High Court to issue a rule asking the authorities to explain why their inaction in preventing these marriages should not be declared illegal" (para 1-3).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-3

"When a young girl from Dakshin Surma upazila in Sylhet became pregnant, it came to light that she had been raped by a young man from the same village. The incident occurred in early 2023. The girl’s family filed a rape case against the accused. To avoid prosecution, the young man’s family proposed marriage. The girl, under pressure, agreed" (para 1-2). "Bilkis Jahan, a lawyer at the Sylhet District and Sessions Judge’s Court, is handling two similar cases—including that of the girl from Dakshin Surma [who was pressured to marry her rapist]. On 21 April, she told Prothom Alo about another teenager who was raped by a man already married...more

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: GEW-DATA-1

"More than hundred Bangladeshi peacekeepers of the United Nations mission in Liberia were sent back home on March 1 after they were embroiled in a sex scandal....The source said the five paid for having sex with local women and took pictures of sexual acts. They later went to a local photo studio to print the pictures for $25 (Liberian)" (para 1,4). This information shows the commonality of sexual exploitation of women ang girls in the countries to which Bangladeshi peecekeepers are sent (MR-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: EWCMS-DATA-3

There are zero published records of any court martial, prosecution, conviction, or case dismissal specifically involving sexual assault of one Bangladeshi soldier by another Bangladeshi soldier (intra-military, soldier-on-soldier) in the 2020–present period. The AFB [Armed Forces of Bangladesh] publishes no court martial records, no sexual offense outcome data, and no transparency reports equivalent to those produced by Western militaries (MR-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: EWCMS-LAW-5

"Sexual exploitations and abuses are also considered offences under the laws of the land, and when committed by military personnel, they are triable by Court Martial. Besides these, there are other offences (Indecent, disgraceful and unnatural acts and acts or conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline) if committed by military personnel may be tried under the Army Act, Navy Ordnance and Air Force Act" (para 2).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: SUICIDE-DATA-1

"According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data for Bangladesh in 2021, self-harm was responsible for approximately 2 deaths per 100,000 women and 3.65 deaths per 100,000 men. The data shows that suicide rates were higher among men than women during this period. Although self-harm did not appear among the top listed causes of death in the WHO graphs, the downloadable WHO datasets still recorded measurable suicide mortality rates for both sexes in Bangladesh in 2021" This information did not appear among the top causes of death listed in the WHO graphs for Bangladesh in 2021. However, the downloadable WHO spreadsheets still reported measurable suicide mortality rates for both men...more

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRCM-LAW-2

"Nevertheless, Section 375 of the Penal Code defines rape and its exception. According to exception 2 of this section, sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 13 years of age, is not rape. Therefore, the Penal Code keeps coercive and non-consensual sexual intercourse by a husband with his wife above 13 years of age outside the ambit of rape. Again Section 376 deals with the punishment of rape which varies depending on whether the victim is married or not. In the case of marital rape, Section 376 states that the husband will be liable of raping his wife for punishment which may extend...more

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRCM-PRACTICE-1

"Many [Bangladeshi] women think that after they get married, they have no choice but to comply with their husband’s wishes to engage in non-consensual sexual activities. Thereby, they start to believe they have no right to exercise control over their body which eventually forces women to consider it as a right of the husband which must be tolerated by any means."

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: SUICIDE-PRACTICE-1

"'Since the marriage, Nahid [Bangladeshi man abusing his wife Mohana] had been mistreating Mohona [Bangadeshi woman, Nahid's wife] and subjecting her to physical and mental abuse. Out of shame and humiliation, she hanged herself. Thus, Nahid abetted her suicide,' it added" (para 15). This information shows the presence of coercion/ pressure on women in Bangladesh to choose suicide as a response to shame and a way out of abuse (MR-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"More than 5,600 reports of rape of girls aged below 18 were filed across the country in the past 10 years, according to data from Ain o Salish Kendra — a main women’s and children’s group in Bangladesh. The numbers are unlikely to reflect the reality as many victims do not report the crime" (para 13-14).

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

"Bangladesh passed on Thursday a new law expediting the investigation and trial process in rape cases, following nationwide outrage after the rape of an eight-year-old girl who died of her injuries" (para 1). "The first law to be amended was the Women and Children Repression Prevention Ordinance, which was passed by Bangladesh’s Advisory Council — the highest institution of its interim government led by Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus. 'To ensure speedy trial and punishment of rape suspects, this reform was necessary. It will also help in ensuring proper investigation,' Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary of the chief adviser, told Arab News. The new law reduces the investigation period of...more

Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"Sexual assault in Bangladesh is a pervasive and systemic problem. According to Ain-o-Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi human rights organization, over 907 women and children were raped in the first nine months of 2020 alone. Of these reported assaults, more than a fifth were gang-rapes. These numbers only capture a small fraction of the true number of sexual assaults in Bangladesh, as most survivors face significant hurdles to reporting and accountability" (para 3).