Survivors of sexual violence across South Asia are struggling to access financial compensation, despite the legislative changes introduced by some countries to make reparations more readily available. The issue has been highlighted in a recent report by nonprofits Equality Now and the South Asian Movement for Accessing Justice (SAMAJ), which examines good practices relating to compensation for survivors of sexual violence in the region.

According to the UN, a third of women experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. In regions such as South Asia, stigmatisation means that many of these incidents go unreported. In many countries, survivors of rape who go to the authorities must contend with ‘insufficient, inconsistent and poorly enforced’ laws that mean justice is hard to come by, according to Equality Now.

In Pakistan, many judges opt not to award compensation, while in Sri Lanka, survivors of sexual violence in areas affected by conflict struggle to obtain any form of assistance or reparations. In The Maldives, legal aid is only available in a few urban centres. In Bangladesh, on average, courts award compensation in just seven per cent of rape cases.

In Bangladesh, convictions are also low, says Taslima Yasmin, Associate Professor in the Department of Law at the University of Dhaka, while the appeals process can take years, meaning that compensation – where received – is severely delayed. ‘The whole process of access to justice, especially for rape survivors in Bangladesh, is so clogged,’ she says, ‘so ultimately this provision of compensation is not going to help.’

To overcome the obstacles in countries where some form of compensation is technically available, advocates such as Mandviwala – a partner at TDT Legal in Mumbai – are calling for compensation not to be tied to conviction but instead be made available prior to a court case. To tie compensation to conviction should not be the only way, says Mandviwala, who highlights that ‘conviction is based on the crime, compensation is based on the suffering of the victim.’ She adds that by tying compensation to conviction, there’s a risk that it may be perceived as being ‘an easy escape’ for the perpetrator or as a substitute for accountability. Having earlier access to financial support could accelerate the healing process for survivors and assist them in pursuing a legal fight they may not otherwise be able to afford.

The Equality Now/SAMAJ report recommends that governments and justice sector institutions provide immediate financial assistance for medical, psychosocial and livelihood needs in addition to improving mechanisms to collect fines that could fund reparations, providing training for law enforcement personnel on compensation procedures and establishing national funds.

‘The idea is that we make it easier for survivors to approach the justice system and also take into account that the survivor has needs, which are not just conviction-centred,’ says Shahid. This means translating laws on compensation and reparative justice into ‘local languages, making them accessible, doing community outreach, institutionalising capacity building for the police, prosecutors and magistrates and looking at it from the perspective of the entire justice system.’

The Equality Now/SAMAJ report highlights India and Nepal as potential model systems. In India, the Supreme Court has directed the wider judiciary to consider compensation in all sexual offence cases, while there’s a statutory obligation on states to establish reparation schemes. Compensation can also be awarded before a criminal case concludes. Nepal has set up a survivor relief fund and the state pays compensation when the offender cannot.

Manjula Pradeep, an Indian human rights activist and lawyer, says her country’s system is not without its flaws, however. She explains that it’s difficult for a survivor to access compensation if they don’t have a bank account, are illiterate or are a minor. There is limited public data, she says, with which to assess how often survivors in India are able to receive the compensation.

Compensation would make a difference, especially to those from lower-income communities, says Sahar Iqbal, an officer of the IBA Water Law Committee. However, the key issue in Pakistan lies in obtaining convictions for the perpetrators of sexual violence. ‘Even if the culprit is known, conviction is not easily forthcoming, unfortunately,’ says Iqbal, an advocate in the High Courts of Pakistan and a partner at Akhund Forbes. The availability of compensation or the creation of a dedicated public fund would be a step forward, but the country is not yet there, she says.

That’s the case for many countries in the region, according to Equality Now and SAMAJ. The organisations highlight that, regionally, justice systems are often ineffective in addressing the crime of sexual violence. Mandviwala says that, across South Asia, societal and cultural norms prevent survivors from speaking up and, when they do, the court processes are lengthy and difficult. Survivors have been silenced through threats and harassment, while ‘corruption in the system adds to their plight and inability to get fair treatment and compensation,’ she says. While noting that many NGOs campaign for better systems and processes, Mandviwala calls for ‘a stronger cultural and legislative push’ to tackle ‘this dark reality of our communities.’

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