Cost of violence against women is 2 per cent of GDP, reveals survey

Violence against women costs about two per cent of the country's gross domestic products, a sample survey estimated.

The survey conducted by Care-Bangladesh in 2010 also revealed that the cost of such violence was almost equal to the total annual government expenditure for health and nutrition.

The report of the survey was made public at a dialogue on 'Cost of Violence Against Women and its Implications to Society' organised by Care-Bangladesh and South Asia Partnership-Bangladesh at CIRDAP auditorium on Sunday.

Care-Bangladesh conducted the study in Sunamganj, Tangail and Dinajpur from January to June 2010 interviewing 500 families of victims to calculate direct and indirect tangible costs of domestic violence against women within marital relationship.

While presenting the findings, World Bank consultant Kaniz Siddique said according to the study direct pocket cost of per victim's family was Tk 11,900 annually which included costs of displacement, treatment, transport and legal procedure.

The total cost of dealing with marital violence was 2.13 per cent of GDP in 2010 while the victims' families expended 2.08 per cent, five ministries—women and children affairs, social welfare, home, health and family welfare, and law and justice and parliamentary affairs—expended .02 per cent and different non-government organisations expended .03 per cent, she added. 

The findings said it was about 13 per cent of the government's budget for health and nutrition sectors which was about Tk 14,500 crore.

Kaniz Siddique said in 2008, Centre for Policy Dialogue also conducted a study to estimate costs of spousal violence through interviewing 200 victims from 12 different districts including Dhaka.

The study showed that cost of spousal violence was 2.85 per cent of GDP in 2008.

Abul Hossain, project director of Multi-Sectoral Programme on Violence against Women under the ministry of women and children affairs, said violence against women could not be measured by money always.  

He said the government enacted the domestic violence (protection and prevention) act 2010 which drew economic aspect of domestic violence for the first time and urged the researchers to calculate state cost including its mechanism cost for studies like these.

Rasheda K Chowdhury, former advisor of caretaker government and executive director of Campaign for Popular Education, said though the initiative tried to calculate violence against women in economic way, every organisation concerned should consider it from wider perspective as it affected every sector of the society.

Jamie Terzi, assistant country director of Care-BD, said violence against women also increased poverty rate in Bangladesh.

SAP-Bangladesh executive director Syed Nurul Alam, Care-Bangladesh team leader Julia Ahmed, media personality Mohammad Jahangir, CPD head of research Fahmida Khatun, BRAC Development Institute lead researcher Simeen Mahmud, Ain-O-Salish Kendra chairperson Hamida Hossain, ActionAid country director Farah Kabir, and Jaintia Shinnomul Sangstha executive director ATM Badrul Islam,among others, were present at the programme.

Source : New Age