Dhaka, May 23 (IANS) The failure of rape trials in Bangladesh reflects a broader systemic collapse across the entire judicial chain rather than a single flaw. From the filing of the initial complaint to the final stages of cross-examination, the survivor often confronts institutional incompetence and political interference, a report has detailed.
The horrific discovery of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old minor girl, Ramisa, in Dhaka’s Pallabi area has once again laid bare a troubling reality, according to a report in Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star.
Her decapitated body was found inside a neighbour’s flat — “a site of unimaginable horror where her shoes remained neatly placed outside the door while a life was snuffed out within.”
This comes amid another recent disturbing incident in Netrokona district, where an 11-year-old child was reportedly subjected to a brutal sexual assault, leaving her seven months pregnant.
“These incidents, alongside the older cases of Madhabdi and Sitakunda and many others, prove that the legal system remains a graveyard for rape complaints. These cases follow a predictable and tragic cycle. We see initial horror and outcry, a promise of swift action, and, eventually, years of delay or the case’s total disappearance,” the report said, highlighting several incidents of sexual abuse across Bangladesh.
“The fundamental problem lies in the disconnect between paper laws and courtroom practice. While the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act promises quick resolutions, the reality is a backlog so immense that it effectively functions as a denial of justice. Thousands of cases have remained unresolved for more than 5 years,” it added.
The report noted that despite a sharp rise in reported cases of sexual violence, Bangladesh continues to record an abysmally low conviction rate. It added that the judicial system is burdened by a massive backlog that effectively amounts to a denial of justice.
Citing official data from the High Court, the report said that by December 2025, 30,365 cases had been pending in the system for more than 5 years.
Additionally, Dhaka-based rights group Ain o Salish Kendra documented at least 56 girls under the age of 12 who were raped in the first four months of 2026, including 16 children below six years.
The Rape Law Reform Coalition, a group of human rights defenders in Bangladesh, estimated a judicial backlog of over 10 lakh pending cases, with 10,000 rape cases remaining unresolved for over five years. In 2025 alone, the police recorded 7,068 rape cases across Bangladesh, affecting 5,171 adult and 1,897 child victims.
“This data reflects a systemic failure to deliver verdicts, forcing survivors to navigate a process that often feels designed to defeat them,” The report stated.
–IANS
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