Bangladesh to ban 'immoral character' evidence in rape cases

[niyad]

Bangladesh to ban ‘immoral character’ evidence in rape cases

Experts say the Evidence Act, a 19th-century relic of British era, has been routinely used to discredit the survivors’ testimony.


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A student in Dhaka holds a black flag to protest against an alleged rape in Noakhali district, Bangladesh [File: Rehman Asad/AFP]
Published On 15 Mar 202215 Mar 2022

Bangladesh will ban questions probing the “immoral character” of rape victims in criminal cases, authorities say, after a long campaign by rights groups against humiliating interrogations of traumatised survivors. Experts say the country’s Evidence Act, a 19th-century relic of the British colonial era, has been routinely used to discredit the testimony of survivors during court cross-examinations and police investigations.



Female activists have spent more than a decade demanding the law be amended and last year a coalition of rights groups petitioned Bangladesh’s top court for its repeal.


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Demonstrators hold candlelight vigil demanding justice for in a rape case, in Dhaka [File: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

Justice minister Anisul Huq said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet has resolved to remove the character evidence provisions from the law. He said the law currently allows those accused of rape to “ask questions as to the immoral character of the victim” but this would be banned, with parliament expected to formalise the decision by June.“This is another step towards empowerment of women,” he said.

Prominent activist Nina Goswami of the local Ain o Salish Kendra rights group hailed the move as a “remarkable achievement”. She said character evidence had hindered justice for decades, with many survivors deciding not to seek charges against their attackers out of fear of social humiliation. “This will now stop,” she said. Last year, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) said character evidence had been used to cast doubt on victim testimony, making it difficult to secure guilty verdicts.


https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/15/bangladesh-to-ban-immoral-character-evidence-in-rape-cases

[Martin68]

1. I had to start reading the article to understand that the "immoral character" referred to in the

headline is the rape victim. Sounds like progress! The U.S. justice system also used to question the victim's morality, and police sometimes still delay or block justice for rape victim's by failing to take action or leaving rape kits untested.

[Aristus]

2. The misogyny inherent in calling the rape victim 'immoral' instead of the rapist,

is just mind-boggling...

[niyad]

3. Sadly true, wherever it exists, including in this cuntry.

[Aristus]

5. Just once, I would like to hear a trial lawyer ask the rapist on the stand:

"What were you doing in that part of town that late at night?"

"What were you wearing?"

"Isn't this kind of a pattern with you?"

[niyad]

6. Exactly.

[niyad]

4. That it referred to women in a patriararhal culture is the first thing that

occurred to many. The patriarchy is alive and well in this country, witness the endless attacks on wmen's rights. Untested rape kits still number in the thousands.