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Editorial

Law reform move to curb crime against women

Reforms should benefit common people


Bangladeshpost
Published : 02 May 2021 09:03 PM | Updated : 03 May 2021 01:14 AM

In our country women are often oppressed and are deprived of justice against brutal crimes happening against them. Now, in a bid to ensure women’s safety and justice, the Law Commission has prepared a draft of a fresh law titled the ‘Women Repression Prevention Act, 2021.  

This new draft law is expected to remove the complexities and loopholes that deprive women of justice as the current law does not allow them that. Various reforms are suggested here by the Law Commission to redefine sexual harassment and assault on women and provisioning for tougher punishment for rape and other forms of sexual violence against women, including girl children.

Passing down a law for the

protection of

victims will never be enough if our system 

does not implement it appropriately

If the law stipulates death penalty but a criminal does not face punishment as it is not being implemented, then the provision is somewhat meaningless. Another thing is, compensation is important for rape cases. As per the existing law, the fine perpetrators are charged ranges from Tk 10,000 to Tk one lakh. However, sometimes the compensation process takes a very long time and it is also full of complexities. Therefore, loopholes and complexities in the existing  law and the new law draft should also be removed first.

Sustainability is a significant issue when it comes to projects like these. Without consistency of the implemented law practices, significant impacts are never there. Passing down a law for the protection of victims will never be enough if our system does not implement it appropriately. 

Therefore, common people’s perspectives on this draft should be in focus, rather than the technicalities of the law. At the end of the day, laws are there so that common people can be benefited from them.