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Nearly two dozen civil society organizations have come together on a platform to fight sexual violence in South Asia, which mainly affects women and girls. This fight requires governments such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal or Sri Lanka to apply the law to prevent many crimes from going unpunished.
South Asian civil society groups yesterday announced a joint platform to address sexual violence in the region, encouraging legal reforms and promoting collaboration with local governments.
“Some criminal codes in the region contain provisions that discriminate against women and girls. The platform, made up of 17 organisations, called the South Asian Movement for Access to Justice (SAMAJ), said in a statement.
The new platform, which brings together organizations from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, aims to promote legal reform in these countries, ensure access to support services, empower marginalized groups, promote accountability mechanisms and encourage inclusive movements. Notes.
SAMAJ said it must work with local governments to achieve these goals, and has asked local governments to increase funding for immediate and long-term assistance to victims of sexual violence.
No Faith
Despite some progress in recent years, the platform stressed that victims still face significant barriers in filing complaints with the police, in addition to long delays in criminal investigations and trials or difficulties in obtaining legal aid.
This has led to low conviction rates for sexual violence crimes across South Asia, the statement said.
According to a report released by the World Economic Forum in August 2023, about 35% of South Asian women said they had been physically or sexually abused in their lifetime. This figure is higher than the global average of 27%.
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