Introduction
Violence against women represents one of the most prevalent human rights violations globally, and Bangladesh is no exception. The United Nations defines gender-based violence as any act of gender-based violence that results in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women (United Nations, 2013). In Bangladesh, this phenomenon manifests through multiple forms including domestic violence, sexual assault, dowry-related violence, acid violence, and trafficking. The burden has intensified in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated underlying vulnerabilities within communities and households.
The Bangladesh government has made incremental progress in addressing this crisis through legal reforms and awareness campaigns. However, limited data availability has historically constrained evidence-based policy formulation. The 2024 Violence Against Women Survey, conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, provides the most comprehensive nationally representative data on violence patterns since 2011, offering crucial insights for policymakers and development partners.
Rate and progression over the years
Recent national surveys provide clearer understanding of GBV trends in Bangladesh. According to the 2024 Violence Against Women Survey, seven in ten ever-married women have experienced one or more forms of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, with four in ten experiencing it in the past 12 months (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2025). These figures represent a decline from 2015 levels, when 73 percent reported lifetime intimate partner violence. However, the persistence of violence at such elevated rates underscores the entrenched nature of gender-based violence within Bangladeshi society.
Sexual assault constitutes the most reported form of violence, accounting for at least three in five reported incidents according to media-based data from 2018 to 2021. Notably, while lifetime sexual violence prevalence remains high at 29 percent, recent experiences have declined to 9.3 percent, suggesting potential effectiveness of targeted interventions. Physical violence affects nearly half of ever-married women over their lifetime, with 10.5 percent experiencing it within the past 12 months. Psychological violence, including emotional abuse and controlling behaviors, emerges as the most dominant form of intimate partner violence, affecting 68 percent of women over their lifetime through controlling behaviors alone (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2025).
Domestic violence, which dipped prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, surged following pandemic onset, suggesting that physical confinement and economic stress intensified household tensions. Dowry-related incidents similarly demonstrate this pattern, with apparent downward trends before 2020 followed by increases during the pandemic period. This observation aligns with global evidence of pandemics intensifying household conflicts and intimate partner violence.
Geographic Patterns
Geographic analysis reveals significant variation in GBV prevalence across Bangladesh's administrative divisions. Data from the Bangladesh Peace Observatory and the 2024 VAW survey demonstrate that violence concentrations have shifted over time, complicating intervention strategies.
Rajshahi division consistently ranked among the top three divisions for reported GBV incidents from 2018 to 2021. Barishal division experienced a notable spike immediately preceding COVID-19 onset, with elevated rates persisting throughout the pandemic. In contrast, Khulna and Barishal divisions currently report the highest lifetime intimate partner violence prevalence at approximately 81 and 82 percent respectively (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2025).
District-level analysis reveals dynamic patterns. Between 2018 and 2019, Narayanganj (Dhaka division), Bogura, Pabna, and Natore (Rajshahi division), and Panchagarh (Rangpur division) reported the highest incident counts. By 2020-2021, following the pandemic onset, Barishal, Barguna, Pirojpur, Bandarban, and Cox's Bazaar emerged as the new hotspots. In these districts, sexual assault consistently accounted for at least 50 percent of reported incidents, with domestic violence and dowry-related violence also prevalent.
Bandarban and Cox's Bazaar warrant particular attention as they rank among Bangladesh's poorest districts. Cox's Bazaar, home to the world's largest refugee settlement following the August 2017 Rohingya crisis, has experienced environmental degradation and threatened livelihoods for host communities, likely contributing to rising GBV trends. Studies document a particularly worrisome situation for GBV within refugee camps themselves, where displacement, overcrowding, and limited livelihood opportunities create conditions conducive to violence.
Vulnerable Populations and Demographic Disparities
Women and girls constitute the overwhelming majority of GBV victims, accounting for 88.2 percent of all reported cases. Adolescent girls deserve particular attention, as they report the highest prevalence of recent violence. Among adolescents aged 15-19 who are ever-married, 62 percent experienced any form of intimate partner violence in the past 12 months, compared to declining rates with advancing age (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2025). Girls, including children, faced 60 percent of sexual assaults alone in 2020-21.
Education level demonstrates an inverse relationship with violence prevalence. Women with no formal education experience the highest lifetime intimate partner violence prevalence at 80 percent and 42 percent in the past 12 months. Conversely, women with bachelor's degrees or higher education report lower rates at 61 percent lifetime and 42 percent recent prevalence. This relationship likely reflects both protective effects of education and the socioeconomic circumstances associated with educational attainment.
Disaster-prone areas present heightened vulnerability, with residents experiencing higher violence prevalence than non-disaster-prone regions. Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence in disaster-prone areas reaches 81 percent compared to 74 percent elsewhere. This disparity reflects how climate-related vulnerabilities, food insecurity, and economic stress interact with gender relations to intensify violence.
Causes and Contributing Factors
Understanding the "why" behind rising GBV requires multifactorial analysis incorporating environmental, social, economic, and cultural dimensions. Bangladesh faces distinct vulnerabilities that intersect with gender inequality to facilitate violence.
Climate change and environmental degradation constitute foundational risk factors. Bangladesh ranks as "ground zero" for climate change impacts, with disproportionate effects on women and girls who bear primary responsibility for water and food collection. Climate-induced stress, crop failures, and food insecurity force families to adopt maladaptive coping strategies, including child marriage. Research documenting child marriage prevalence in highly vulnerable regions finds that 56 percent and 67 percent of women in Barishal and Rajshahi divisions were married as child brides, often to manage economic stress.
Socioeconomic poverty compounds these risks. The data demonstrates that the poorest households experience the highest violence prevalence at 79 percent lifetime, declining gradually with wealth increases to 71 percent among the wealthiest quintiles. Poverty-related stress, limited livelihood options, and reduced household decision-making power for women heighten conflict and violence.
Gender norms and behavioral learning constitute critical psychological mechanisms. Research demonstrates that young men with greater childhood exposure to gender-based violence and who internalize stronger male dominance norms are significantly more likely to justify violence, control family decisions, and perpetrate physical violence themselves. Following the pandemic, youth gang activity spiked in areas including Barishal, Chattogram, and Dhaka, correlating with increased sexual violence against women. These gangs, often composed of economically marginalized youth, extend patriarchal violence into public spaces.
Broader systems of male dominance embedded within legal, institutional, and social structures perpetuate violence. Limited legal protections, gaps in institutional accountability, and persistent victim-blaming silence survivors. The 2024 survey finds that 64 percent of intimate partner violence survivors never disclosed their experiences to anyone, citing fear, shame, and embarrassment. Fewer than 8 percent pursued legal action despite available statutory protections.
Help-Seeking Barriers and System Gaps
Systemic barriers significantly impede survivors from accessing support and justice. Only 49 percent of women nationally know where to report violence, with substantial rural-urban disparities (48% rural versus 51% urban). Regional variation reaches dramatic levels, with 66 percent awareness in Khulna compared to merely 34 percent in Dhaka division.
Helpline awareness remains critically low despite government investment in these services. Only 45 percent of women nationally are aware of the 999 helpline, with urban areas showing higher awareness at 56 percent. Awareness of the 109 helpline remains minimal at 12 percent nationally. This awareness gap reflects insufficient public education campaigns and survivors' potential lack of access to communication technologies.
When survivors do seek help, only 15 percent accessed medical treatment. Legal action rates remain extraordinarily low at 7.4 percent nationally, with significant variation from 5 percent in Mymensingh to 13 percent in Sylhet. Urban survivors took legal action at higher rates (9.5%) compared to rural survivors (6.5%), reflecting differential access to legal services and awareness.
Financial barriers compound these challenges. Survivors incurred average medical treatment costs of 2,512 Bangladesh Taka and 4,104 Taka for legal action in the past 12 months. Rural women faced slightly higher medical expenses than urban counterparts, while urban women bore greater legal costs, suggesting transportation and geographic barriers for rural residents seeking specialized services.
Nature and Forms of Violence
Intimate partner violence encompasses multiple forms representing different dimensions of control and harm. Physical violence, while declining, remains alarmingly prevalent, affecting 47.3 percent of ever-married women over their lifetime. Sexual violence within partnerships affects 29 percent of women, with particular concentration among younger women. Psychological violence, encompassing emotional abuse and constant criticism, affects 37.4 percent of women over their lifetime.
Controlling behaviors emerge as particularly prevalent, affecting 67.6 percent of ever-married women throughout their lives and 44 percent in the past year. These behaviors—including restrictions on mobility, controlling finances, and limiting social contact—fundamentally undermine women's autonomy and agency. Economic violence, affecting 19.6 percent of women over their lifetime, manifests through financial control and deprivation.
Non-partner violence, including physical and sexual violence from individuals outside intimate relationships, affects 15.8 percent of women since age 15. While this represents a decline from 2015 levels at 28 percent for physical violence and 4.4 percent for sexual violence, prevalence remains concerning. Urban areas report higher non-partner violence rates than rural areas, potentially reflecting differential reporting and violence concentration in densely populated areas.
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence represents an emerging concern inadequately captured in traditional surveys. Online harassment, image-based abuse, and cyber-stalking represent new manifestations of gendered violence that require distinct policy responses and prevention strategies.
Recommendations and Policy
Addressing gender-based violence in Bangladesh requires comprehensive, multisectoral intervention addressing root causes, institutional gaps, and survivor support needs.
Prevention programming must target youth, particularly young men aged 15-24 in high-violence areas, challenging norms accepting violence and promoting healthy masculinity. School and community-based programs should incorporate gender transformative curricula beginning in primary education.
Institutional strengthening remains essential, including training police and judiciary in gender-sensitive approaches, establishing functional complaint mechanisms in educational institutions and workplaces, and ensuring victim-centered investigation and prosecution practices. Legal reforms should strengthen protections for non-intimate partner violence victims and technology-facilitated violence survivors.
Public education campaigns must reach all Bangladesh divisions, utilizing diverse media to raise awareness of available support services, reporting mechanisms, and survivors' legal rights. Campaigns should specifically address high-prevalence regions and marginalized populations.
Livelihood diversification and social protection programs can reduce poverty-related stress and unsafe coping strategies. Climate adaptation interventions addressing food security and environmental vulnerabilities require gender-transformative approaches ensuring women's participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing.
Survivor support services require expansion and strengthening, including accessible counseling, legal aid, shelter facilities, and medical services. Services must be culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, and adequately resourced to serve high-need populations.
Conclusion
Gender-based violence persists as a defining feature of gender inequality in Bangladesh, affecting millions of women and girls across all socioeconomic groups and geographic regions. While recent data suggests marginal improvements in some indicators, the continued prevalence at epidemic proportions demands urgent action. Addressing this crisis requires acknowledgment that GBV stems not from individual pathology but from structural inequalities, economic vulnerabilities, and cultural norms privileging male authority. Comprehensive intervention must simultaneously strengthen institutional accountability, transform harmful gender norms, reduce poverty and environmental vulnerability, and support survivors. International partners and the Bangladesh government must prioritize this agenda with commensurate resources and political commitment to achieve the violence reduction necessary for gender equality and sustainable development.
References
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