Berkley Center

Widespread sexual violence is a persistent problem in Bangladesh, aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief focuses on the ongoing rape crisis, examining pathways to policy reform. Its aim is to inform government entities, faith-based organizations, and secular organizations about the context and nature of the ongoing sexual violence crisis in Bangladesh. It highlights ways in which faith actors can be powerful allies of women and girls by speaking out against such violence and working to bolster meaningful and impactful policy change. Achieving a clear understanding of common ground is both the end and the means. Doing so can help advance sustainable reform around ending systemic sexual violence based on an appreciation that such violence is detrimental to individual and collective human flourishing and represents a significant impediment to Bangladesh’s prosperity and development.