Robust support for victims must for ensuring gender equality
Brac comes up with the observation based on the experiences from its two recent initiatives
Robust support for victims of gender-based violence is a must for ensuring gender equality, non-governmental organisation Brac has said.
It made the observation based on the experiences from its two recent initiatives called "Aar Na" and "Shongjog" at a dialogue on the occasion of International Women's Day at the Brac Centre in the capital on Monday.
"It's imperative to have correct databases and information on gender-based violence in the country. The pictures of the kinds of violence our field-level staff gathered are worrying," Asif Saleh, executive director at Brac, said.
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He stressed the importance of developing an integrated support service and collaboration between the government and non-governmental actors to help the survivors recover from mental trauma.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson, Department of Social Services Director Mohammad Kamrul Islam Chowdhury, and actor Azmeri Haque Badhan, among others, were present at the event.
Brac, earlier, developed an app and a website under the two projects to gather data on gender-based violence and provide victims with the necessary support, the programme was told.
Presenting a brief on the "Aar Na" project, Brac Director Nobonita Chowdhury said over 800 field-level staff, particularly in Rangpur and Satkhira, had been trained in reporting incidents of violence against women and girls using the "Aar Na" app.
"Following the reports, a team of case managers work to connect the survivors with required support services," she added.
BRAC director Jenefa Jabbar briefed on Shongjog, a user-friendly website BRAC developed to provide comprehensive information on state and non-state support services for the victims.
"One can find support services such as healthcare, legal, psycho-social, and information on the nearest shelter homes and police stations," she briefed.
Actor Azmeri Haque Badhan shared her struggle in overcoming the trauma of domestic abuse and said survivors of gender-based violence need strong support, firstly from family.
British High Commissioner Dickson suggested using modern technology to tackle violence against women.
