AdSEARCH Marching for Activism on Two-finger Test Ban
In a quarterly meeting of the Civil Society Organization (CSO) forum for strengthening sustainable SRHR ecosystem in Bangladesh, AdSEARCH by icddr,b placed a proposal on initiating an activism to enforce the Ban on the Two-Finger Test (TFT) at icddr,b seminar room on 9 September 2024 . In 2018, the High Court banned the use of the TFT tin the medical examination of rape victims, but distressing gaps persist in its implementation in Bangladesh.
In light of this, AdSEARCH initiated a qualitative study on the assessment of the Implementation of the Ban on the TFT in collecting evidence on rape in selected health facilities in Bangladesh. The aim of the study is to assess the implementation of the TFT ban in selected facilities from three types of health services and identify the existing barriers to implementing the TFT ban. Through presenting the study overview and findings to the forum, AdSEARCH proposed to explore strategic approaches that can translate evidence into activism. CSO Forum membersʼ representatives actively participated in the discussions.
During the session, they explored the way forward, focusing on strengthening advocacy efforts, addressing systemic barriers to implementing the ban, and ensuring accountability in the healthcare, law enforcement and legal sectors. In addition, AdSEARCH has announced the initiation of the knowledge brief titled “Enforcing the Ban on the TFT” on the journey of banning TFT.
