Country: Bangladesh Source: United Nations Population Fund Dhaka, Bangladesh, 27 February 2025: Intimate Partner violence (IPV) remains widespread for women in Bangladesh, with 70 per cent women having experienced at least one form of it – physical, sexual, emotional, and economic violence as well as controlling behaviours – in their lifetime. For 41 per cent of women, this violence occurred in the past 12 months. These figures are based on UN standard measures, which are widely used, among others, for global monitoring of prevalence of Violence Against Women. The corresponding figures are even higher when considering additional acts of violence relevant to the national context of Bangladesh (76% lifetime and 49% last 12 months prevalence).The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Bangladesh, presented the key findings at the dissemination event for 2024 Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey's Key Findings. This landmark national survey – the third of its kind following surveys in 2011 and 2015 – offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date insights into the nature, magnitude, and impact of violence against women in Bangladesh.While lifetime IPV prevalence remains high at 70 per cent, the rate of IPV in the past 12 months was 41 per cent. The corresponding figure were 73 percent and 55 per cent respectively in 2015. The survey also highlights intimate partner violence (IPV) to be a more prevalent form of violence than non-partner violence.For the purposes of this survey, 'intimate partners' are defined as current or former husbands, and 'non-partners' refer to any individuals other than a current or former husband with whom the respondent has come into contact since the age of 15.More than half of all women (54 per cent) had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from their husbands in their lifetime, with 16 per cent facing such violence in the past year. Controlling behaviour and emotional violence were found to be the most prevalent forms of violence, according to the key findings, highlighting that psychological violence is a critical concern.Additionally, the survey revealed that women are three times more likely to experience physical violence and over 14 times more likely to suffer sexual violence from their husbands than from anyone else. This suggests that the risk of physical and sexual violence is overwhelmingly higher in the context of marital relationships.Another highlight of the survey is the significant disparities in vulnerability, with women in disaster-prone areas experiencing a higher risk of intimate partner violence, both in their lifetime and within the past 12 months, compared to women in non-disaster-prone areas.Despite widespread intimate partner violence (IPV), the report revealed that 64% of survivors told no one about their experiences. This silence stems from various factors, including a desire to protect their family's reputation, worries about their children's well-being, and the perception that such violence is normal.The dissemination event was attended by key government officials, development partners, and representatives from civil society. The Advisor for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Sharmeen S. Murshid, attended as the Chief Guest, with the Senior Secretary, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Mamtaz Ahmed (NDC), Secretary, Statistics and Informatics Division (SID), Ms. Aleya Akter, participating as Special Guests. Also in attendance were UNFPA Representative a.i., Mr. Masaki Watabe, and the Deputy High Commissioner of the Australian High Commission, Mr. Clinton Pobke, who were present as Guests of Honour. The Director General of BBS, Mr. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, chaired the meeting. The presentation on key findings of Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey 2024 was given by Mr. Iftekhairul Karim, Project Director of BBS.The Government of Bangladesh and UNFPA reaffirmed their commitment to addressing violence against women through evidence-based policies and support systems. They emphasized the importance of translating the survey findings into legal and policy reforms, national planning and programming as well as multisectoral collaboration, particularly to strengthen response services and scale-up concerted prevention efforts.“The Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey, conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), is vital to understanding violence against women in the country. With previous surveys in 2011 and 2015, this third iteration in 2024 reaffirms Bangladesh’s leadership in South Asia on this critical issue. This household-based survey interviewed 27,476 women across urban, rural, disaster-prone, slum areas and qualitative data gathered for the first time. By capturing the experiences of women aged 15 and above, from both intimate partners and non-partners, the survey offers invaluable insights to shape policies and interventions to end violence against women,” said Mr. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Director General, BBS.“The 2024 Violence Against Women Survey strengthens Bangladesh's gender statistics, providing essential data to track SDG 5, including key Violence Against Women ( VAW) indicators for the country’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) to be presented at the UN High-Level Political Forum in July 2025. This data will guide efforts to enhance response and drive action to end violence against women," said Ms. Aleya Akter, Secretary, Statistics and Informatics Division (SID).“To achieve a violence-free and truly equal society, quality data is essential for guiding national action. This survey will be crucial to inform our efforts to develop evidence-based strategies to eradicate violence against women in Bangladesh, and ultimately build a gender-equitable, discrimination-free society,” said Sharmeen S. Murshid, Advisor for the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs,“The strong partnership of BBS and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is highly commendable. The Violence Against Women Survey would not have been possible without the dedication of all stakeholders and contributors, including those women who were interviewed,” said Masaki Watabe, UNFPA Representative a.i.UNFPA, as a technical partner, played a key role in strengthening the survey methodology, training national experts, statisticians and enumerators, and ensuring rigorous processes of data collection and analysis, in alignment with global standards and best practices.Mr. Watabe further emphasized the importance of utilising this dataset, stating, “This report is more than just statistics – it is a vital tool for developing evidence-based strategies to combat violence against women. While some progress has been made, we must intensify efforts and invest more in ensuring that every woman and girl in Bangladesh can live free from violence.”The full report, including detailed analysis and policy recommendations, is expected to be released by May 2025. This data will serve as an essential tool for policymakers, researchers, development practitioners and advocates working to eliminate violence against women in Bangladesh.For media inquiries, please contact:Mr Iftekhairul Karim, Project Director, Integrating Geospatial Information with Gender and Vital Statistics Project Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Tel:+880718439109 E-mail:: iftekharbbs@gmail.comAsma Akter, National Programme Officer - Communication (Social and Media), UNFPA Bangladesh, Tel: +8801711673555, Email: asma@unfpa.org___About the Violence Against Women Survey 2024The 2024 VAW Survey was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in collaboration with technical support from UNFPA Bangladesh. Technical support was also provided by UNFPA’s Asia-Pacific Regional Office, the University of Melbourne, and kNOwVAWdata, with funding from the Government of Australia. The study follows internationally recognized methodology to ensure safe, ethical, and accurate data collection on violence against women.About Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) under the Ministry of Planning, Statistics and Informatics Division is the only national statistical office (NSO) in Bangladesh. Since its inception in 1974, this organization has been working relentlessly to collect, prepare statistics and publish data on the country's population, agriculture, industry, economy, demography and various socio-economic issues by anticipating the user's demand and data needs. In keeping up with the modern era of information flow, the organization is also publishing electronic copies (soft copies) of all reports through the website in addition to the traditional method (publication of hard copy reports) of preparing and delivering up-to-date and timely statistics. Government policymakers and private users, researchers, teachers, students, development partner’s staff and all are the users of the official website of BBS.About the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. We promote gender equality and empower women, girls, and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures. We work with partners in more than 150 countries to provide access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. Our goal is to end unmet needs for family planning, preventable maternal death, and gender-based violence and harmful practices including child marriage by 2030.