Female magistrates to record statements of rape victims

Female magistrates will now record statements of female and child victims of rapes, sexual harassments, the Supreme Court administration has said in a notice.

Court Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 April 2019, 09:23 AM
Updated : 16 April 2019, 10:48 AM

The top court ordered the government to follow the circular issued on Tuesday.

The order came after a series of harassment incidents against women and allegations of sexual misconduct against a police station chief while recording a statement of Nusrat Jahan Rafi, a Feni madrasa student.

“The chief justice approved the decision taken by the Supreme Court’s Special Committee for Judicial Reforms. Later, the Supreme Court registrar general issued a notice on the decision,” said High Court Special Officer Mohammad Saifur Rahman.

The statement of a person for any offence committed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 is recorded in line with the law’s Section 22. The statement recorded for the sake of a fair investigation and trial of crimes attaches great importance, according to the notice.

 “Some male magistrates record statements from female and child victims and therefore the victims feel hesitated to give details about the real facts of sexual harassments and tortures to the men,” the notice read.

 To address such situation, a female magistrate must record the statements from the victims so that they can narrate the incidents without any hesitation, it said.

In case of the absence of female magistrates in the district or metropolis, any other eligible magistrate can be given the responsibility to do so, according to the notice.