How You Can Help

ActionAid is an international charity that works in both rural and urban parts of Bangladesh, supporting the most vulnerable women and girls to protect themselves from violence and access their right to education. For example, their local staff searches the streets of Dhaka to find girls in possible danger and bring them to a safe space at one of their five ‘Happy Homes’. There ActionAid girls can receive healthy food, emotional support, access to education, and life skills.

Sisters for Change is an international non-governmental organisation that works with women’s rights advocates and legal experts from Bangladesh to identify legal gaps and laws in need of reform in order to strengthen equality for women and protect women and girls from violence and abuse.

The IRC (International Rescue Committee) has launched an emergency response in Cox’s Bazar focusing on health and the protection of vulnerable women and children. The IRC is also working to empower women and adolescents through skills development and raising awareness to prevent gender-based violence.

OWDEB (Organization for Women’s Development in Bangladesh) works towards institutionalizing gender and women’s human rights in the socio-cultural, political and economical development process. Their activities include promoting women’s rights, raising awareness and providing non-formal education.

Naripokkho, a Dhaka-based women’s human rights and development organization, is working for the advancement of women’s rights and entitlements and building resistance against violence, discrimination and injustice. One of Naripokkho’s recent projects is Monitoring State Interventions to Combat Violence against Women, which involves regular monitoring of police stations, hospitals and courts.

Ain O Salish Kendra is an organisation in Bangladesh that provides legal assistance to victims of violence. Since November 2017 the organisation has acted as the national implementing partner of the ASTHA project. This project aims to increase access to multi-sectoral public services for the survivors of gender-based violence, and to increase positive attitudes amongst community members about harmful gender norms and behaviours that perpetuate violence.

BRAC is an international development organisation based in Bangladesh that works for transforming socio-cultural gender norms, creating violence-free enabling environments for women, as well as advocating for gender equality and gender justice at all levels through gender mainstreaming.

ASTI (Acid Survivors Trust International) is a UK registered not-for-profit charity whose sole purpose is to end acid violence at a global level. With the support of ASTI, the Bangladesh Government introduced the legislation in 2002 which includes control of sale, use and storage of acid.