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victim. In all societies, media or different sources claim that women invite rape by talking
with strangers or working in the garden in two-piece bathing suit (Mac Donald 1971). In
Bangladesh, rape is viewed as a secondary offence against the dignity of the women, but
viewed as an offense against the honor of the male members of the family (Khan 2001) .
Violence against women is highly sensitive area, as it includes issues of power,
gender and sexuality. In most developing countries people consider domestic violence as
private sphere, which is out of the realm of public discussion and debate. As a result
domestic violence remains undocumented in developing countries. Over the years
domestic violence has received attention from different international organizations.
Violence against women has become a primary concern in the field of women and
development in many countries. The International Conference for Population and
Development in 1994 insisted that all countries around the world should formulate policy
to eliminate violence against women (UNFPA, 1994). As a result, researchers have
started to conduct research on domestic violence, defining and redefining the concept of
violence against women. In a recent research ICRW (1999) found that in Uttar Pradesh in
India 40% women reported that their husband had beaten them. Results also indicated
that among these women 50% reported abuse during their pregnancy (ICRW 1999) . In a
study in Pakistan, among 1000 women, 35% of women residing at rural area and 55% of
women residing at most developed peri-urban area reported to be abused by their
husbands (Naved 2003) . In a study in Nepal found that 58% women reported that their
husbands physically tortured them. In Sri Lanka, 32% women reported physical torture
(Sattar and Kazi 1999). In Bangladesh 2 out of every 5 ever married women of
reproductive age reported ever being physically abused by their husbands both in Dhaka
Convention