Sexual Violence and the Technoscience of Credibility: Colonial Origins and Developments in Legal Reform in Bangladesh

• In Event: 50462 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Colonial Legacies

Abstract

How did science and technology gain such a central place in the postcolonial state’s imagination as an objective tool for evidencing rape in sexual violence adjudication? Using the case of Bangladesh, I combine insights from feminist science and technology, sociolegal studies, postcolonial scholarship, and political sociology to argue that this occurs through the creation of a technoscience of credibility. The state's use of ‘truth-technologies’ and procedural reforms in law to enhance medical evidence collection in sexual violence investigations is partly driven by its belief in the objectivity of science and desire to present itself as a ‘modern’ nation pursuing technological progress for social welfare. However, these reforms obscure a deep-rooted mistrust of women who file rape complaints.

To understand the prominence of science and technology in sexual violence adjudication in Bangladesh, I trace its colonial circuits and examine how the state prioritizes scientific progress to gain legitimacy both domestically and globally. I examine narratives and practices around medical evidence collection in sexual violence investigations during colonial rule and after independence, illustrating how the technoscience of credibility is preserved through legal reforms. I first show how a belief in the materiality of rape and mistrust of complainants circulates among state actors, leading them to insist on medical evidence, thus reproducing colonial-era logics. Next, I analyze the ‘social lives’ of truth technologies. I explore narratives surrounding the abolition of the two-finger test, used to establish virginity and injuries after rape. I then examine the discourses and practices of DNA typing, a critical tool in contemporary assessments. Finally, I highlight how, without alternative perspectives questioning the technoscience of credibility, truth technologies in one form or another continue to serve the purpose of preserving the disbelief of women who report rape.

Author

• Esha Sraboni, Cornell University