BRAC challenges harmful norms, prevents child marriage and violence, and ensures survivors access justice through legal aid and empowerment.
Challenging harmful norms and practices
BRAC works to shift mindsets that accept gender-based violence, including domestic violence, child marriage, dowry, and other harmful social norms and practices. It challenges the culture of silence and reluctance to seek justice, often reinforced by a complex legal system and social stigma.
Expanding access to justice
In Bangladesh, only 7.4% of married women who experience violence take legal action. We provide survivors with legal aid services so they can claim their rights and access justice. This resulted in women and children recovering $47 million worth of entitlements, assets, and compensation in 2021-2025. Our grassroots model builds legal awareness, strengthens community-based protection systems, and ensures survivors are supported with dignity and action.
Empowering women and girls
One in two girls is married before they turn 18 in Bangladesh. We have mobilized 75,000 adolescent girls into local brigades to prevent child marriage—and these brigades successfully stopped 27% of reported child marriages in 2024 alone.
468,225
acts of violence prevented in 2001-2023
5.99 million
people received human rights awareness
400,000
rural women trained to become local community leaders
Nupur’s fight against child marriage: Swapnosarothi
Featured stories
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There’s more to social protection than just allowances
Social security programs in Bangladesh date back to the 1970s, but continue to be plagued by errors, including a failure to reach those who need it the most. Today, we must look beyond cash allowances and focus on lowering dependency on such programs.
Experts believe that a combination of ‘social safety net’ and ‘social security ladder’ – mechanisms that provide capital and training respectively–can prevent people from falling back into the poverty trap. BRAC’s Graduation approach is an example of such a ‘net and ladder’ combination. -
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Putting the law to work in remote Bangladesh
This video shows how BRAC is working to uphold human and legal rights in rural Bangladesh.
Gender equality is not yet established and women have still not gained the respect they deserve. I want to see a world free of oppression and violence, and I want to work for it. -Mosammat Sufia Begum, District Manager, Human rights and legal services division, BRAC
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End child marriage
Children have big, bold dreams. But for 52% of girls in Bangladesh, these dreams are cut short when they are married off before turning 18.
It was my dream as a child to become a doctor. But those dreams had been shattered when I was married at 13. I had only studied up to class eight. My father’s view was that girls needed to get married as soon as possible — it was boys that needed education.”
Nilafur
BRAC community health worker
BRAC received “Special Recognition Award for Legal Aid Services 2026"
BRAC Recognized for Excellence in Legal Aid Services
BRAC’s Social Empowerment and Legal Protection Programme (SELP) was honored with the special recognition award for outstanding contribution to legal aid services. On April 28, 2026, the award was presented by the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid, in collaboration with the Law and Justice Division and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on the occasion of the National Legal Aid Day 2026 celebration. The Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman presented this prestigious award to BRAC Executive Director Asif Saleh. This recognition reaffirms BRAC’s continued commitment to advancing legal empowerment and protecting the rights of marginalized communities.
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