Christine Blokhus looked forward to a long-term partnership with Prothom Alo in the fight to prevent violence against women. He said that in this case, the combination of Prothom Alo’s high credibility and readership and UNFPA’s working capacity could play a big role in determining future programs.
Responding to a question, Christine Blokhus said UNFPA financed a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) study on violence against women and provided the necessary technical assistance in 2015. At that time it was observed that only 1 percent of women became victims of violence. A complaint of violence was lodged. This rate is quite worrying. If we can strengthen the programs then women will have the confidence to lodge complaints.
UNFPA has funded another BBS study and also provided technical assistance, he said, adding that UNFPA has more work to do in Bangladesh than in other countries. UNFPA emphasizes on women’s health, education, empowerment and talking openly about any form of violence against them.
