Assessing the Policy Implementation of the Bangladeshi Domestic Violence Act: Any Lessons for Protecting South African Women in their Homes?

ABSTRACT

Violence against women in the home is a serious global social, health and human rights problem which transcends every level of society. Many countries have enacted and implemented specific legal policy interventions, often referred to as the “Domestic Violence Act”, in order protect women from violence at home. Although the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010 was an important landmark in policy-making in Bangladesh, legal recourse by survivors of violence in the home using this Act appears to be exceedingly low in some districts. Using a qualitative case-study approach, this article, part of a broader investigation on violence in the home, critically assesses the implementation of the Act in the Bangladeshi administrative district of Mymensingh. Since enactment of the law until the study period in 2014, only two cases were lodged under this Act in this district. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the concerned implementers and the survivors of domestic violence. Furthermore, relevant documentary evidence was also consulted. This assessment reveals that policy implementation of the Act suffered from various drawbacks, in particular lack of coordination, non-compliance, implementation delays, lack of commitment and the capabilities of the implementers. We then reflect on lessons from this assessment for South Africa, pointing out some possibilities for overcoming the problems associated with implementation of laws against violence against women in the home.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic Violence Act
• women
• policy implementation
• implementers
• case study
• Bangladesh
• South Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 There are 64 districts In Bangladesh. A district is a mid-level administrative unit comprising several subdistricts. A subdistrict, on the other hand, is a rural administrative unit comprising several rural areas/villages For example, in Mymensingh district there are 13 subdistricts. In each district there is a court called the District Judge Court. According to the Domestic Violence Act 2010, all cases of domestic violence must be tried by the respective magistrates charged with different subdistricts, and they are officially located in the District Court.

2 Source: Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust (BLAST), Dhaka, and Citizen Initiative of Domestic Violence (CIDV) secretariat, Dhaka.

3 Source: Department of Women Affairs, Government of Bangladesh.

4 All names in the cases have been changed to protect confidentiality.

5 Documents and information collected from BLAST office in Mymensingh, and the relevant court.

6 The concerned lawyer provided relevant documents related to case filings.

7 Necessary information wase furnished until the closure of field study in November 2014.

8 Same magistrate performing dual charge for both Ishwarganj and Muktagacha subdistricts.