Monday | 9 December 2024 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Monday | 9 December 2024 | Epaper

Reducing rape through online monitoring

Published : Wednesday, 9 June, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 919
Akim M Rahman and Saadi Islam
Rape is a social evil that has reached explosive proportions no matter whether it is rural or city or in both areas. It has ruined many lives and continues to do so at a very fast-pace. Based on daily news on the incident, it would not be over stated claiming that no one is immune and age of victim or offender is no bar. From infants to senior citizens to corpses, rape has become an aggressive symbol of power in today's Bangladesh. Despites Covid-19 pandemic crisis, on an average, 4 women are raped every day in Bangladesh. At least 29 people died and five committed suicide after being raped.

Today in practice, rape has been addressed in Bangladesh as a criminal crime punishable by the 1860 Colonial Penal Code and also includes punishments levied by the Cruelty to Women (Deterrent Punishment) Ordinance, 1983 and the amended Nari O Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain 2000 (Prevention of Women and Child Repression Act).

These laws clearly suggest that after taking place the incident(s), the victim can precede with legal action(s). Secondly, these provisions have been misused by female victims in some cases. As reported by a print media, a victim was known to the accuser and was in love since July of 2018. As reported, they used to talk on different social media platforms such as Facebook / Messenger, imo and WhatsApp where as reported, "evidence of the accuser provoking the victim to be physically intimate can be found". On making official statement in complaint, the victim claimed "with false promise of marriage, the accuser raped the victim at accuser's house".

This kind of incident sometime becomes challenging on establishing "conceptuality issue". This is because today human society lives in world of business mentality where Bangladeshi society is no different. So, any failure of fulfilling motivational-commitment of one party can force the other party to change its position in aim to take advantage of these legal provisions. This is the loophole of today's rape relevant laws in Bangladesh. Moreover, it does not guarantee women and children's absolute protection in today's society of Bangladesh like in many countries.

So, it is suggested that the nation needs effective laws that acknowledges violence including sexual violence as a human rights violation and place emphasis on women and children as right holders. So preventing women and children from rape incident, besides current provision(s) under rape relevant laws, policy-makers need to adopt provision that serves as a measure before a rape-incident takes place. In other words, measure can be helpful identifying probable perpetrator so that their moves can be followed for preventing a probable rape-incident.

Since the rise of the Internet age in early 1990, scholars have been carrying out research on how the Internet influences its audience given the propensity for television to affect its viewers. During the last several decades, the studies into Internet consumption have centered on political participation, democratic mobilization and the most recently the concept of cyber bullying.

For the fields of psychology and mass communications, there remains a gap in the research realm for the study of behavioral characteristics of a probable perpetrator(s) within user-generated media, specifically social media. Authors of this article have undertaken scientific studies filling this need and accordingly investigating (ongoing) the relationships amongst behavioral characteristics of probable perpetrators and social-media.  This effort here hints on how the current laws relate to rape-incident can be made effective.

In today's world, social-media users have been increasingly engaging in excessive and sometimes addictive use of social networking platforms. On this progression, the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) states audiences choose mediate messages to satisfy their needs. The theory serves scholars as a guide to assess and evaluate audiences' reasons for consuming and accessing media and Google search engine. Specifically, the UGT can guide a monitoring-team assessing users' motivations on using mass media. It can be helpful understanding users' motives.

In general, people select media for information & personal identity, integration & social interaction and entertainment. Entertainment category suggests people seek messages on the Internet as they do with other forms of media such as movies and TV, often seeking out messages that will lift their mood, scare them or provide sexual arousal. Lastly, interpersonal communication, which emphasizes the desires for individuals to utilize the Internet to fulfill relational needs. Here users routinely monitor their own followers? comments, likes and feedback as an indication of how well they are doing for the goal of receiving positive reinforcement.

Thus creation of monitoring-team can serve as a wing to Law Enforcement Agency, which can facilitate the current relevant laws to be effective.  However, nothing similar to the proposal has been spelled out in current laws on how the probable perpetrators be monitored under the Law. Having this provision in place can be instrumental curtailing the magnitudes of today's high-rise rape problem. It will ensure protecting women & children before they become victims.

Adapting this provision will not definitely require additional manpower. Recalling  the writers another article, "Domestic-policy Dividend to Bangladesh-economy", published in the Daily Observer (16-02-21), extra manpower may come from Armed Forces. By so doing, no negative impact will be seen. It will facilitate addressing today's unwanted issues such as rape, robbery and other crimes in society. It will not undermine activities of Bangladesh Armed Forces within country and beyond. But surely the arrangement will facilitate meeting said Agency's manpower-needs, which can ensure its effective utilization rather continuation of wasting taxpayers' money.

With the facilitation of the 21st Century technology, the proposed monitoring-team will stick with the theme "prevention is better than detection". They will endeavor preventing crime with adequate manpower without causing extra cost to taxpayers where monitoring-team will play role smartly before a rape takes place in Bangladeshi-society.
Akim M. Rahman, Ph.D teaches at Canadian University, Saadi Islam is an alumnus of Dhaka University




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