Contemporary Trends of Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: Unveiling Growth Patterns and Age-sensitivity

Abstract

Women continue to be under-represented in many areas of society while also facing high inequality, discrimination, and violence. Oppression in the household domain continues to this day, affecting individuals and society as a whole. However, domestic violence’s context, nature and discourse against women have evolved over time. Thus, this paper aims to investigate recent trends in domestic violence against women in contemporary Bangladesh. The study is exploratory and relies primarily on secondary data sources. The findings indicate that the occurrences of domestic violence are increasing, but the rate of growth is slowing. Nonetheless, the two forms ‘tortured by in-laws’ and ‘murdered by own family’ are increasing at an alarming rate. In today's Bangladesh, younger and young adult women are the most vulnerable to domestic violence. This paper demonstrates that sociocultural norms, property ownership, education and employment play significant role in domestic violence in the country. Furthermore, not all types of domestic violence affect women of all ages equally. Women between the ages of 19 and 30 are the most vulnerable in this regard. As a result, this paper suggests more integrated actions for combating violence against women, with age sensitivity taken into account.