Name: Mashtura Tabassum Prova

ID: 2012319647
Section: 15
Course: Eng105
Instructor’s Name : Noora Shamsi Bahar
Research Topic: Victim Blaming Culture
in Bangladesh
Introduction

 Victim blaming means blaming the victim partially or entirely for the crime
that has happened with them rather than blaming the criminal. According to a
research article published in Women’s Health Research Institute, women are
told repeatedly to dress less provocatively, drink less alcohol, and not to put
themselves in risky situations. This proliferates the belief that women are at
fault when they are attacked, and leads to a lack of accountability for men.
( Anonymous,para3).
Research questions

 1) How common is victim blaming culture in Bangladesh ?

 2)Why do people blame the victim ?
 3) How it effects them mentally ?
 4) How it effects the society?
 5) How to solve this?
Hypothesis

 I assumed that victim blaming is common in our country & people blame the victim as
if maintaining modesty and social norms is only a women’s duty.
 I assumed that due to victim blaming, victims start self-victimization and isolate
themselves from others.
 I excepted that this culture effects the society as the criminals remains hidden and are
encouraged rather than being punished which increases criminal activities more.
 I assumed that people blame the victim because it’s their psychological tendency to do
so.
 I expected that this can only be solved through making people aware of the harmful
side of this and letting the victim speak up. They should be listened to and be given
proper justice.
 Graphical data 1

Why do you think mostly people of Bangladesh blame the

victim of sexual assault?
People are comfortable with criticizing
women’s actions & behavior rather than
accusing men because of social superiority
of men & it's been going on like this for a
long time

Because girls don't dress well while going outside

Due to lack of proper religious knowledge they think it’s only girl’s part to
maintain modesty and social values and men have no responsibilities whereas
it's totally a misconception

Because girls families don’t restrict them from going outside (3%)
Graphical data 2

How do you think victim blaming culture affect the victims?

It doesn’t have that much effect if the victim doesn’t care about what

Victims self-blame themselves and stop socializing & demanding justice

Victims can start getting severely depressed and even can commit suicide.

It has a temporary effect and they recover eventually(3.3%) .

Graphical data 3

Is blaming the victim for their dress right?

Not at all ,no matter what dress the victim wears, it doesn’t give a consent to
the opposite gender to touch her

Yes, women should wear dress covering themselves so that opposite gender
isn’t attracted to them.

I think blaming victims for their dress is totally illogical because rapists are
totally sick people who won’t think twice to rape or harm kids, old women
and also women wearing hijab and burkha.

I think the type of dress-up is partially responsible as it attracts people

towards someone
 Graphical data 4

In what way do you think victim blaming affects the society the
most?

Victims are afraid & feel unsafe to speak about the assault; as a result the
criminal remains hidden

The criminals are not punished properly; as a result crime increases and it
weakens the criminal justice system greatly

It doesn’t affect the society that much .

Depression and suicidal tendencies increase among young victims

Findings

 Through the findings in my primary and secondary research , it can be clearly stated that victims
shouldn’t be blamed because its not their fault and it hinders their mental health and the process of
justice.
 My hypothesis has been proven correct because maximum people agreed with the facts that victim
blaming is mentally harmful for victims & they shouldn’t be blamed for dress as people of all ages are
victims nowadays . They also agreed that this hinders the law & justice process.
 From my secondary research I found that , according to an article published in The Psychology
Today, our first reaction, to blame the victim, is clearly no longer the right action. Accept that urge to
affix blame as a passing thought – an instinctive impulse for emotional self-control in the face of our
own vulnerability – and move on to a more mature response that confronts and stops the abuser.
( Anonymous, 2019,para-13)
Conclusion

In order to stop victim blaming, firstly we must make sure that victims are heard and given
justice. Then we have to comfort the victim by letting them know that it wasn’t their fault.
The rapist/criminal should be exposed instead of exposing the victim. Lastly, we must raise
voice against people who blame the victim.