On Monday, Bangladesh’s cabinet approves raising the maximum penalty for sexual assault from life in prison to the death penalty in response to a series of assaults which triggered protests and social media coverage. Before this change, capital punishment was only established if the victim had also died, but now President Abdul Hamid wants to make changes in light of the recent assaults. He plans on doing so by revising the women and children repression prevention act to include capital punishment as the maximum penalty for rape.
What led to this? Some human rights groups claim sexual assault has been on the rise, citing over 889 reported instances between January and August, 41 of which were fatal. Protests arose in Dhaka after a graphic video went viral on Facebook. Since the protests have arisen, Prime Minister Ashina has promised that justice will be served.
How will this affect IR? Internally, raising the punishment for sexual assault will hopefully help stop or at least discourage sexual assault from happening at the rate that it is currently. This will also help women feel more safe in their own city/country. Internationally, Bangladesh is incentivized to take action against sexual assault after the videos and protests were picked up by the media. By taking this action, they can improve their reputation, and show to other countries the steps that they are taking to make their country a safer place. Right now, their country has a bad reputation due to these events, and rates of tourism and trade are likely going down. In order to bring back this trade, they need to improve the safety of their country in order for travelers to feel comfortable and secure when in Bangladesh.