DIFFERENT parts of the world became orange as part of the 16-day activism against gender based violence, a programme annually organised by UNWOMEN. Monuments, restaurants and buildings in Europe, Africa and Asia are decorated with the colour orange. One may ask how colouring of the world orange contributes to the prevention of gender based violence. Orange is chosen as the colour of freedom, empowerment and a bright future. It symbolises a new dawn or a new beginning. At the same time, the colour also reminds us that we have a long way to go to prevent gender based violence.

The theme of this year is ‘Orange the world: fund, prevent, respond, collect to prevent gender based violence’. Gender-Based violence, as referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is the harmful act directed at any individual for their gender identity. No one should be discriminated or deprived of any right or endure any violent act because of their gender identity. There is often a misconception that only women face gender based violence. In reality, even a man can face gender based violence. Since the world is largely male dominated and violence against women is more prevalent than that against men, the programme focuses more on gender based violence against women.

The Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, 2020 shows that gender gap can potentially be closed in the next 163 years in East Asia and Asia Pacific, if the progress continues in the current pace. In spite of all continuing efforts, this means that it will take another century or more for us to prevent gender based violence. If there is any setback in our work, this may even take longer. Considering the ongoing pandemic situation, it will not be wrong to assume that it will take long for us to bridge the gender gap. The lockdown and school closure as measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus have burdened women with more domestic work. Domestic violence against women, as many studies have already demonstrated, increased all over the world during the lockdown. According to USC, a Centre for Economic and Social Research, just within three months of the outbreak, employment of non-college educated women fell from 51 per cent to 41 per cent across the world. In the pre-COVID-19 Bangladesh, only 38.1 per cent women were found active as labour force, whereas 83.0 per cent men were part of the labour force. The situation is expected to get worse in the post-COVID-19 situation. In this context, let us see how Bangladesh can be orange by collecting, responding, preventing and funding.

Collect: Four women are raped everyday on an average during the pandemic. This is quite obvious, as women are the most vulnerable in any moment of crisis. Families have been quite reluctant to report rape cases in Bangladesh. Once a rape victim is socially known, the victim as well as her family is stigmatised. The family may face difficulty in arranging marriage of not only the survivor, but also her sister and cousin sisters. Her parents may be abandoned by the society. In most incidents of sexual harassment, the victims are the first ones to be blamed. That is why most cases of harassment including rape go unreported. To deal with the situation, collecting information on gender based violence could be the first step. Without access to fact, it is not possible to prevent, or even reduce, gender based violence.

Respond: Many women commit suicide after rape. Some are killed during or after rape. Many survivors are forced to take up prostitution or may suffer lifelong trauma. They do not know where to seek the much needed support during this time of crisis. An official platform therefore is required to continuously assess the need of the victims and survivors for quickly responding to their needs.

Fund: Funding efforts to ensure economic empowerment of women and ensuring their control over resources are vital in Bangladesh. Research shows that engaging women in economic activities may not automatically empower women. It is important to gain control over decision making; otherwise engaging women in economic activities may not prove effective.

Prevent: Preventing gender based violence is the ultimate target in which collecting, responding and funding could play a significant role. In the context of Bangladesh, such prevention involves a complex dynamics. As part of the government’s zero tolerance policy on gender based violence, it has recently created legal provision of death penalty for rape. If we consider the experience of other countries, it appears that the declaration of death penalty or brutal punishment did not often help to prevent violence against women. It is more important to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice irrespective of the socio-economic and political status. Similarly, offenders should be punished in a timely manner. At the same time, efforts to positively influence the social and religious norms are indispensable. In so doing, engaging faith leaders could be a very effective strategy. Men should be sensitised too so that they understand how women’s empowerment would eventually benefit them. Healthy masculinity should be promoted to ensure equal rights and prevention gender based violence.

Bipasha Dutta is the national coordinator (strategy, innovation and knowledge management) of World Vision Bangladesh.