Concerned Women for Family Development (CWFD) organised the advocacy workshop titled "Role of Media Persons to Resist Domestic Violence" at the PIB seminar room.

Domestic violence is a worldwide problem as traditional beliefs and practices lead to such violence, the speakers said.

A total of 11,164 incidents of physical torture, murder, suicide, acid burn, fire burn and abandoning by husband took place this year whereas only 827 cases were filed in this connection, said Advocate Salma Ali of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association.

Domestic violence is the worst of all the violence against women, President of 'Women for Women' Dr Mahmuda Islam said while reading out the keynote paper.

She marked the major issues behind domestic violence as patriarchal attitudes, discriminatory laws, traditional practices, weakness in implementing the laws, lack of awareness of women's human rights and son preference depriving the girls.

The speakers suggested the role of media could be clearing perception of family violence, value of girl child, disseminating information about availability of services and generating confidence among women.

At the same time media could disseminate information about laws against violence and mobilise public opinion on full ratification of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women.

Among others, Prof Hamida Akhtar Begum of Dhaka University, Farida Yeasmin of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (Blast), journalist Mahmuda Chowdhury, Rokeya Sultana and Zahur Fatima of CWFD present as resource persons.

Some 20 journalists from print and electronic media took part in the workshop.