A senior police officer in Bangladesh has blamed the clothing choice of women for causing rape.

The police commander, in charge of a regional police station in Sylhet division, blamed Bollywood films for encouraging women to wear “revealing” outfits, which he said would in-turn lead to them being raped.

“Foreign media, such as Indian TV and films, are watched by our children, who then want to wear these revealing outfits,” he told a reporter from US magazine Vice News.

“That’s the issue. We follow Islamic laws and rules here. I think if girls cover themselves up, I would be far less attracted to them and they towards me.”

The officer then told the reporter, who was wearing a headscarf and long robe, that she was not wearing enough to avoid rape: "It's not enough. More than that," he said.

Asked how a woman could be the "culprit" of the rape, the officer appeared lost for words.

The interview appeared online over the weekend and is part of an investigative report into an alleged gang rape epidemic in the country.

Tania Rashid, the reporter who interviewed the police officer, said the officer was blaming women for problems caused by the behaviour of men.

“The men refuse to take responsibility for their actions,” she told German news agency DW.

“They choose to blame women instead. Until men recognize that the solution to the rape epidemic starts with them, nothing will change.”

The policeman makes the comments about 18 minutes into the 20 minute report.

In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' Show all 13 1 /13 In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Sohan, father and uncle of Murti and Pushpa, the two girls who were raped and hanged in Katra Sadatganj in Uttar Pradesh, is comforted by his mother (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Murti's mother is briefed by the local Senior Superintendant of Police Atul Saxena (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Sohan (55) holds passport sized images in his hands of his daughter Murti (right) and niece Pushpa (left) in Katra village, Ushait near Baduan, Uttar Pradesh (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Murti’s brother Veerendar (Photo Simon de Trey-White) Simon de Trey-White In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Villagers stand by the mango tree from which the two girls were hanged (Photo Simon de Trey-White) In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Villagers and media throng the home of the murdered teenage girls (Photo Simon de Trey-White) In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi interacts with women during his visit to the village of the two girls In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Demonstrators from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) hold placards and shout slogans during a protest in New Delhi against the recent killings In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Members of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) shout slogans during the protest In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans as they participate in a protest against the gang rape In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape A member of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shouts slogans In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape An activist places a candle on a pavement during a candle lit vigil to protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls In pictures: India in shock after teenage girls 'gang raped and hanged' India gang rape Activists hold candles during a vigil

A recent report by the United Nations alleges that one in eight men living in rural Bangladesh admit to having raped someone.

Legally the crime is punishable by death, but there are no accurate government figures for the crime in the country due to social stigma and an apparent lack of interest from local authorities in investigating it.

Bangladesh is not the only country where authorities have claimed it is the responsibility of women to stop rape.