#Bangladesh #Dhaka #Legal Aid South Asia #Sexual Violence #Justice Reform

Legal Aid in South Asia: A Call for Reform

Sexual violence continues to plague South Asia, where shockingly high instances stand alongside disturbingly low rates of conviction for offenders. Unfortunately, women and girls seeking justice encounter a myriad of legal, social, and institutional obstacles. The enforcement of laws is inadequate, investigations take an excessively long time, and there is a noticeable lack of survivor-centered legal assistance available to those in need.

In response to these pressing challenges, the South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice (SAMAJ), a coalition of civil society organizations from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, has issued a critical report entitled Exploring Legal Aid Mechanisms: Lessons from South Asia. This advocacy brief is aimed at informing key stakeholders—including legal providers, law enforcement, and government entities—on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of legal aid systems for victims of sexual violence.

Written by advocates and experts in women’s rights, the report highlights severe deficiencies in the criminal justice system. It reveals how current support mechanisms routinely undermine the quality of legal representation and the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions. According to Nawmi Naz Chowdhury from Equality Now, “Survivors experience stigma and discrimination, and aggressive delays in the justice system often induce discouragement, which only enables offenders to evade accountability.”

While some state-run legal aid programs are in place in regions like Bangladesh and India, they do not adequately cater to the needs of sexual violence survivors. Many are unaware of available services, while others find the legal aid processes to be convoluted and insufficiently responsive to their unique situations.

The Struggles Faced by Survivors

The landmark report, co-authored by Equality Now, underscores the numerous challenges sexual violence victims face, including inadequate laws and poor implementations, along with secondary victimization by the legal system itself. Such circumstances not only expose women and girls to ongoing abuse but also perpetuate a cycle where justice feels perpetually out of reach.

Additionally, there lies a critical underutilization of legal aid, exacerbated by a lack of public awareness and immense delays within the system leading to extensive backlogs. Survivors often find themselves waiting for years without significant updates on their cases.

Furthermore, systemic discrimination intersects with multiple facets of identity—such as gender, socio-economic status, and ethnicity—making it essential for legal services to be tailored specifically for marginalized groups, like Dalit and Indigenous communities. Innovative pilot programs in Bangladesh, which prioritize support for women and girls with disabilities, demonstrate the potential to improve outreach and speed up processing of cases.

Funding and Quality of Legal Aid

One of the major hurdles faced by legal aid systems is chronic underfunding, which severely limits the delivery and quality of survivor-focused services. Insufficient resources restrict legal aid organizations from developing customized support systems that cater to the diverse needs of survivors. Pressing shortages of trained, rights-based lawyers further complicate the issue, especially in rural regions devoid of proper legal aid representation.

S. Perumal from the ADECOM Network notes, “In rural India, accessing legal aid often relies on personal connections or the distance one is willing to travel. Survivors need compassionate and trained legal professionals available in close proximity.”

In areas such as Bangladesh, public prosecutors are frequently political appointees with no accountability mechanisms in place, hampering effective performance. Survivors have reported instances where they had to bribe officials just to get updates on their cases, which adds to their trauma and frustration. Manish Biswas from the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust emphasizes the urgent need for legal aid to be accessible and automatic for the most vulnerable, rather than only for those who can endure a cumbersome process.

The Path Forward: Recommendations

SAMAJ has called for more stringent enforcement of laws and significant reforms in the legal framework surrounding sexual violence. To that end, governments are urged to monitor the quality of legal aid services actively and ensure that funding is sustained for the recruitment and training of competent legal professionals.

Moreover, cooperation between legal aid institutions and civil society organizations is essential for enhancing service capacity and outreach. Investments in long-term, survivor-centered approaches will prove critical for achieving meaningful change, transforming the landscape of legal aid into one that truly serves the needs of sexual violence survivors in South Asia.