Reports from multiple human rights groups show alarming rises in rape and violence against children in Bangladesh during the first seven months of 2025.
-Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) documented 492 rape cases, up from 292 last year, a rise of nearly 68%. Reports of violence against children climbed from 463 to 640 cases, an increase of 38%. Domestic violence also rose by 16%, with 363 women abused, including cases where women were murdered by husbands or in-laws, or took their own lives to escape abuse.
-Bangladesh Mahila Parishad recorded 405 rapes in the same period, compared to 253 in 2024, including more gang rapes but fewer rape-murders and attempted rapes.
-Manobadhikar Sangskriti Foundation (MSF) reported the highest numbers: 502 rapes, 133 gang rapes, and 27 rape-murders, all sharply up from 2024.
-Activists say weak law enforcement, lack of accountability, and police indifference have emboldened perpetrators.
-Advocate Saidu Rahman of MSF said the absence of local representatives has corroded accountability.
-Jana Goswami of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad noted rising misogyny and anti-women propaganda.
-Dhaka University professor Dr. Syed Shaikh Imtiaz linked the surge in sexual violence to both the collapse of policing after the July Movement and to harmful narratives undermining women’s rights and mobility.
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