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Where can domestic violence survivors actually go?
TAQBIR HUDA
ON this year’s International Women’s Day, which is being celebrated across Bangladesh and with much grandiosity in Dhaka, I want us all to think of Yasmin Ara, a young woman from Satkhira, who has been thrown out of her home by her mother-in-law a few months after losing her husband.
Yasmin’s mother-in-law evicted her saying she had no reason to stay. She moved back to her father’s home along with her daughter. Her family is much poorer compared to her more well-off in-laws, and are barely able to feed themselves.
I came to know of Yasmin’s case through a pilot project I oversee named “Ar Na,” being implemented by Brac in Satkhira and Rangpur. As a part of this project, over 800 frontline staff in 50 branches are being trained to use a web app to report incidents of violence against women and girls in their working areas. Yasmin’s case was reported by Tania, a frontline staff member of Brac’s microfinance programme, who came to know of Yasmin’s ordeal when engaged in her daily loan collection in her neighbourhood.
After a case is reported, a small team of case managers work to connect the survivors with the required support services through referral. Yet, in order to refer survivors of gender-based violence to a local service provider, a mapping of existing support services at the upazila level is of utmost importance. Shongjog, a web app that shows the availability of six main types of support services for gender-based violence (GBV) survivors at the upazila level, based on a nationwide service-mapping conducted in 61 districts covering 435 upazilas, categorises service providers into six main categories: police stations, legal aid, social protection (i.e. livelihood opportunities), psychosocial support (e.g. trauma counselling), safe/shelter homes, and medical aid/health services.
When the case manager visited Yasmin to ask her about the kind of referral support she needed, she expressed her desire to take legal action to secure her and her daughter’s property rights. Yasmin also mentioned that she had no means to feed herself or her daughter, and that she was in urgent need of financial support or a livelihood opportunity. The case manager also noted that Yasmin needed psychosocial counselling to overcome the traumatic experience she had faced.
Yasmin’s story encapsulates the experience of all too many Bangladeshi women today. The vast majority of cases we have received reports of through the Ar Na project all relate to young women (aged 27 years on average) facing domestic violence from their husbands or in-laws, or both. The type of support the survivors most commonly need are legal support, social protection (i.e. livelihood support) and psychosocial counselling. So how readily available are these support services at a national level?
The National Legal Aid and Services Organisation (NLASO), was set up to provide legal aid to those otherwise unable to afford legal services, and has established district legal aid committees in all 64 districts of Bangladesh. The legal aid committees have also reportedly been constituted at the upazila and union levels, though information about these are not available on the NLASO website.
For those unwilling or unable to take microcredit loans (like Yasmin), the Department of Social Services has a cash transfer programme called “Allowances for the Widow, Deserted and Destitute Women,” which makes monthly payments to the tune of Tk 500. However, application for this assistance does not automatically guarantee transfer of cash for anyone who applies. It is subject to selection by a committee, which prioritises the most senior and the neediest.
The Department of Women Affairs has a programme named “Women’s Skill Based Training for Livelihood,” which provides training to women in order to develop skills on certain trades, so they can earn a livelihood. However, batches are taken only every quarter, and places are limited to 25 or so people.
The situation is grimmest for psychosocial support services. Other than the One-Stop Crisis Centres (OCCs) in 12 medical college hospitals and certain public hospitals, it remains largely unavailable. The nearest OCC to a survivor in Satkhira, like Yasmin, would be in the neighbouring city of Khulna.
Yasmin’s story teaches us two important lessons. Firstly, even where services are available, and are provided free of cost, it costs money to travel to the service providers, which are typically located in far-off locations. The GBV survivors often do not have the means to afford the transportation cost needed to reach these service providers. For this reason, they need immediate financial assistance so they can, at the very least, bear the immediate and incidental costs associated with experiencing gender-based violence. Secondly, the two social protection programmes outlined above do not necessarily guarantee selection even if the applicants are proven to be GBV survivors, and are not designed to cater to their needs.
As we transition into a middle-income country, foreign funding for a social protection programme designed to address the unique needs of GBV survivors is the need of the hour. This programme should, at the very least, provide survivors with immediate cash transfers in the short term to meet pressing costs, while ensuring their economic empowerment in the long term.
Names of individuals have been anonymised to protect their confidentiality.
The situation is grimmest for psychosocial support services. Other than the One-Stop Crisis Centres (OCCs) in 12 medical college hospitals and certain public hospitals, it remains largely unavailable.
Even where services are available, and are provided free of cost, it costs money to travel to the service providers, which are typically located in far-off locations. GBV survivors often cannot afford the trans-portation cost needed to reach these service providers.