trigger warning : rape, sexual harrasment, femicide
context
It's become an everyday instance for us to wake up and hear news of at least 2 new cases of women raped. rape is becoming slowly normalized in our society and we refuse to allow it.
whats happening now
on the 4th of october 2020, a video was uploaded to the internet. this horrifying video was of a 37 year old housewife who was gang raped by a group of males ranging from their 20s to their 30s who tied up her husband and forced him to watch. she was screaming out for help and mercy.
from the beginning of october, the video quickly went viral, to the disgust and horror of the population. the incident flamed protests all over the country. the men involved in the rape were in powerful families, and the victims could not speak out in fear of being silenced. the investigation is currently ongoing, but the justice system is flawed, and we are afraid.
the issue
one of the biggest issues bangladesh deals with victim blaming and victim shaming. if a woman is raped, she is blamed for dressing inappropriately. she is blamed for leaving the house. she is blamed for alluring men. women cannot speak up for fear of being shot down, and when they do, it is brushed aside, or the rapist is given a slap on the wrist at best.
prison sentences for rapists range between 1-5 years of jail-time, which, for the heinous crimes they commited, are not nearly enough. we are calling for public hangings, as stated in our religion, of rapists. we are calling for a change in the legal system regarding rape, assault, and femicide.
our demands
links to victims and their stories
how to help
defense
the victims
gang-rape/murder
sexual harassment victim who was burned to death for speaking up
the gang rapists attempted silence the victim and destroy all evidence
the rapists broke into the 40 year old victim's house
how to help
we're protesting in an attempt to have our voices heard, to have our demands fulfilled. we are hoping to fix the legal system. to do this we need to raise awareness, and we hope raising worldwide attention will finally cause our government to look out and realize what we want. please help us by spreading information related to this issue, and by helping us trend hashtags worldwide. the current ones being used are : #StopRapeCultureBangladesh, #WeWantRapeFreeBD, #HangRapistsPublicly
links to petitions:
organizations working towards prevention of rape and helping the victims:
will be updated
defence
self defence techniques
pepper spray
tips:
A group of rapists were interviewed in jail. Most of them said they just want someone who won't fight back as much. You might think fighting back will make them angrier however most of them will just give up. So if you start fighting back like crazy it'll be so much difficult for them and they'll think what's the point?
I know women are tired of being told what to wear and how to dress. But in the interview, a lot of them said they look for women who have simple clothing on. This doesn't mean revealing clothes. It means like what's easier to rip or take off. So if you have to walk outside at night or go somewhere that might be dangerous, wear heavy clothing! It could just be a thick jacket or a sweater or jeans. Anything that might be hard to take off.
Short hair is also good. Rapists tend to pull on hair and it's harder for short hair. If you have long hair keep it under your jacket.
ALSO: I've heard the most common date rape drug has a very salty and bitter taste. Keep that in mind if someone buys you a drink.
If someone tries to cover your mouth with their hand bite it.
Rape usually plays out very horrifically. You might not even know what's going on and might be so frozen in fear that you might not be able to move. HOWEVER, if you are aware of what's going on and you're able to think clearly, you can try to trick your rapist.Yell out that you have an STD. Pretend to enjoy what's happening and when your rapist thinks you're not going to escape, escape.