In Bangladesh, women are the biggest victims in 68% of cases filed under various laws to prevent abuse
Dhaka … News Time
Two days after launching an all-female team to combat online abuse targeting women in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi police say they have received about 1,000 complaints of cyber harassment. Nasreen Akhtar, assistant superintendent of police cyber support for women, said the phone kept ringing. We are receiving calls from women all over the country. “Since the launch of the service, we have registered about 1,000 phone calls,” he added. Bangladesh Police Chief Benazir Ahmed launched the Cyber Support Unit following growing public concern over gender-based violence against women and the rise in cybercrime. Benazir Ahmed said that about 68% of women in cyberspace have fallen victim to cyber crimes. 73% of them have been subjected to cyber bullying or harassment. Police hope the unit will encourage women to report digital abuse, including Revenge Porn, misuse of social media content and blackmail as complainants share their personal details with the All Women team instead of men. Assistant Inspector General of Police Sohail Rana said that although we had several specialist units to deal with cyber crimes, there was no unit specifically to help women and children.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, there are more than 100 million active Internet users in the country. Mobile internet use is thought to be limited to 33% of men and 16% of women. Sohail Rana said that with the ever-increasing use of the internet, it was necessary to create a special place where women could raise their voices on issues related to cybercrime. “A lot of complaints are about harassment, we register complaints and provide the necessary legal advice,” he said. The unit employs 12 police officers who provide assistance to victims 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“We receive complaints through the hotline and our Facebook page,” said Bangladesh Police Chief Benazir Ahmed. In some cases we provide immediate solutions but if further investigation is required we send them to the nearest police station to lodge a government complaint. In all cases, the identity of the complainant is kept confidential. The launch of the Women’s Cyber Support Unit follows a law that introduces the death penalty for convicted rapists. Nationwide protests erupted in Bangladesh after two gang rapes in the country’s Nokhali and Sylhet districts. However, activists say that neither the death penalty nor the launch of a cyber unit will change the reality, citing an increase in rape cases last month. According to a media report, 183 incidents of rape were reported in the country from four weeks to November 13, an increase of 58% over the previous month. Women and gender experts welcome the police move, but are calling for a coordinated campaign to limit violence against women and children.
Tania Haq, a professor at Dhaka University, said many women do not know how to use social media platforms properly. They have no idea how to protect themselves from abuse. “We need to focus on eradicating this type of crime through a large-scale awareness campaign,” he added.
