Organised crime and political violence (OPV) and human rights
violations have marred Bangladesh history since 1971. The ruling
parties have systematically used violence against political
opponents and criminals. Little is known about the consequences for
the oppressed population. A recent RCT study describes the patterns
of OPV and human rights violations in a disturbed area of
Bangladesh and assesses the physical, emotional and social
functioning of victims.
This is the first epidemiological household survey to confirm the
elevated prevalence of injury, lifetime experience of OPV-related
injury and pain complaints in Bangladesh. Among other it estimates
the Crude Mortality Rate (CMR) and the Under 5 Mortality Rate
(U5MR) in relation to the level of exposure to OPV and human rights
violations in a complex setting.
Findings show that the CMR (0.49 per 10,000 per day) in 2007 was
similar to that of most African countries at civil war (0.5 per
10,000 per day), while the U5MR (2.1 per 10,000 per day) had
reached the WHO emergency threshold (2.0 per 10,000 per day). The
violence-related mortality rate in Meherpur district, where the
study was conducted, was similar to the rate in a conflict zone in
eastern Burma.
The study concludes that the level of violence and human rights
violations is high with more than 80% of the population over 35
years old complaining of pain. The annual injury rate was 36%, and
the lifetime experience of violence-related injury was 50%. Thus
the affected population suffers from violence-related injuries and
traumas, which could be a factor contributing to poverty.
In addition, there is considerable evidence that victimisation is
not random. A combination of individual, relational, community and
societal factors, including variables such as political party
affiliation, conflict with other families, household income and
residential area, affected the risk of victimisation in a
household. When the politics of organized crime and the organised
crime of politics are mingled, the victims are both economically
and politically deprived.
Understanding multilevel factors may help identify prevention
measures and various opportunities for effective health
interventions.
The study has been published in two separate articles, focusing at
different factors and levels:
Household exposure to violence and human rights violations in
western Bangladesh (I): prevalence, risk factors and
consequences
Shr-Jie Wang, Jens Modvig, Edith Montgomery
BMC International Health and Human Rights 2009 9:29
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Household exposure to violence and human rights violations in
western Bangladesh (II): history of torture and other traumatic
experience of violence and functional assessment of victims
Shr-Jie Wang, Mohammad Akramul Haque, Saber-ud-Daula Masum,
Shuvodwip Biswas, Jens Modvig
BMC International Health and Human Rights 2009 9:31
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Written by Heidi K. Tokle