volunteers. Despite the positive measures taken by the government, the Commission is concerned about the adverse effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights. 25. The Commission recommends that the government continue to ensure effective and timely implementation of the Action Plan in line with Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, in collaboration with the affected communities and stakeholders. Violence against Women 26. In order to address violence against women and children, the Commission conducted a ‘National Inquiry’ to identify its causes and find ways to eliminate them. The Inquiry, which was published in 2022, has identified causes of violence against women such as lack of women empowerment, economic independence, delay in disposal of criminal proceedings, gaps and lacuna in the existing laws, lack of sensitization of law enforcement agencies, low conviction rate, etc. To overcome this, the Inquiry recommends the adoption of comprehensive socio-legal programmes, amendment of the law, recruitment of more judges, speedy disposal of cases, enactment of a witness protection law, increasing efficiency of prosecution etc. 27. Individual complaints regarding violence against women received by the Commission during 2018-2022 are as follows: Types of Complaints Received Violence against Women 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 81 30 14 16 29 28. Although the number of complaints alleging violence against women received by the Commission decreased from 2018 to 2022, the actual number of incidents has been reported to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several empirical studies confirmed that forms of such violence include physical, financial, psychological, and sexual abuse. They also include dowry-related violence, forced child marriage, physical torture, verbal abuse, harassment, humiliation, etc. A survey conducted by a human rights organization shows that, among 38125 interviewees, 4,622 women were mentally tortured, 1,839 women were physically abused, and 203 were sexually abused.4 By way of illustration, another NGO report shows that in January-September 2020, there were incidents of 975 rape, 43 death due to rape, 204 attempts to rape, and 12 rape-incited suicides.5 29. Taking into consideration the above context, the Commission strongly recommends the government strengthen the enforcement of legislation on sexual and gender-based 4 See Manusher Jonno Foundation, Initiative of Manusher Jonno Foundation Survey Period; 2020. Violence against Women and Children: COVID 19 a Telephone Survey. June 2020, available at <http://www.manusherjonno.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Final-Report-of-Telephone-Survey-on-VAWJune-2020.pdf> accessed 13 October 2020. 5 ‘Violence against Women -Rape (Jan-Sep 2020) | Ain O Salish Kendra(ASK)’ (6 October 2020), available at<https://www.askbd.org/ask/2020/10/06/violence-against-women-rape-jan-sep-2020/> accessed 31 March 2023. 8