A multi-stakeholder roundtable in Dhaka called for urgent, system-wide reforms to address online violence against women, emphasising rapid response within the first 24–48 hours of high-risk cases, survivor-centred one-stop support mechanisms, and the demonetisation of abusive online content to dismantle profit-driven harassment.
The roundtable, titled “Women and Technology: Actions for Preventing Online Violence and Ensuring Legal Support,” was held on 17 December 2025 at the Azimur Rahman Conference Hall, The Daily Star Bhaban, Dhaka. The dialogue was convened through the Cyber Support for Women and Children (CSWC) platform and co-hosted with a coalition of civil society organisations working on women’s rights and online safety. As coalition members, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and the Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) facilitated the session and supported knowledge inputs to keep the discussion practical, survivor-centred and solution-oriented.
The session was moderated by Taposhi Rabeya of BLAST, while opening remarks were delivered by Mahbuba Akter, Director (Advocacy and Communication), BLAST.
IID highlights accountability and public leadership
Speaking at the roundtable, Syeed Ahamed, Founder and CEO of IID, stressed that responses to online violence must move beyond describing harm and focus on accountability, institutional performance and ending impunity. Drawing on Bangladesh’s wider civic context, he noted that public values expressed through recent social movements should translate into concrete accountability systems in the digital sphere.
He further underscored that responsibility must be placed where it belongs—on perpetrators and enabling networks—rather than leaving women to navigate complex and fragmented systems alone. Calling for stronger public leadership, particularly from men, he urged that the issue be framed as society versus violence and impunity, not women versus men.
Evidence shows scale of harm and reporting barriers
A keynote presentation by Monira Bishwas, Senior Research Officer at BRAC and Focal Point of CSWC, presented a 2025 snapshot compiled from direct consultations, media monitoring and CSWC’s social media outreach. Between January and November 2025, CSWC received 47 applications through direct consultations, with legal action advised in 20 cases. Media monitoring between January and October 2025 documented 53 cyber-violence incidents, identifying at least 54 women as survivors. Additionally, CSWC’s social media platforms received outreach from 32 survivors between 1 January and 14 December 2025, including 20 survivors in the first two weeks of December alone.
The presentation also highlighted why many survivors hesitate to report abuse, citing fear of stigma and family backlash, lack of clarity about legal processes, concerns around confidentiality, victim-blaming attitudes, lengthy procedures, limited forensic capacity and weak inter-agency coordination.
A sequenced “system-fix” approach
Participants agreed that piecemeal solutions are insufficient and instead recommended a sequenced response architecture. Key priorities included making the first 24–48 hours central to high-risk case management through defined service standards; creating a single entry point such as a hotline with shared case IDs to reduce survivor burden; simplifying evidence collection while avoiding prolonged device seizure; and ensuring clear, unified standard operating procedures across police, prosecution and judicial actors.
The discussion also called for triage systems to prioritise high-harm cases amid limited forensic capacity, investment in digital forensics beyond Dhaka, and low-tech access routes—such as assisted reporting and community-based support—to address structural exclusion faced by rural women.
A major emphasis was placed on changing platform incentives. Participants argued that content built on misogyny, humiliation and harassment should be demonetised, downranked and subject to repeat-offender enforcement, rather than rewarded through engagement and reach.
Broad participation across sectors
The roundtable brought together legal experts, academics, journalists, government representatives and civil society leaders, including Barrister Priya Ayman Chowdhury and Barrister Hasimul Mehrab of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh; Farida Shamsuddin, President of Aarti Foundation and Meye Network; Nova Ahmed, Associate Professor of Computer Science at North South University; Najiba Bashar of The Daily Star; Sharmin Khan of ICNL; Raihul Islam from the National Helpline Centre 109; and Md. Masudul Akbar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Women Support & Investigation Division, Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Concluding the dialogue, participants reaffirmed that legal and technical reforms will only be effective if underpinned by empathy, respectful institutional behaviour and survivor-centred policies—essential foundations for building trust and encouraging reporting.