Bangladesh remains among world’s worst for domestic violence

The picture of violence against women by their partners in Bangladesh is alarming. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and three government surveys, seven out of 10 women in the country have been subjected to violence by their partners at some point in their lives.

According to WHO data from 2025, Bangladesh ranks 11th in the world in terms of physical and sexual violence by their husbands or partners. In South Asia, only Afghanistan is ahead, Bangladesh is second. The organization's data also shows that one in two women in the country has faced such violence.

The latest 'Women's Violence Survey 2024' by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) found that 70 percent of women aged 15 and above have been subjected to violence by their partners at least once in their lives. Of these, 46.7 percent have been subjected to physical violence, 28.5 percent to sexual violence, 32.7 percent to psychological violence, and 50.1 percent to controlling behavior by their partners.

The worst situation in Barisal, according to division-wise data, is 82 percent of women there who have been subjected to violence by their partners while 81 percent in Khulna and 73 percent in Dhaka and Sylhet.

Comparing the three national surveys of BBS in 2011, 2015 and 2024, it is seen that the situation has not changed significantly in two decades. Despite slight improvements, more than half of women still experience physical, sexual or psychological violence.

Even when they are victims of violence, most women do not speak out. The survey found that 64 percent of abused women did not tell anyone. Only 7.4 percent sought legal help while 37 percent do not think it is necessary to report the matter.

Experts say that low education, exposure to violence in childhood, dowry pressure, drug addiction and unequal family laws are major reasons behind this situation. Bangladesh scores 81.9 out of 100 on the OECD Development Centre's 'Family Inequality' index, which is one of the worst countries in the world.