Is child protection a far cry?

At the time of writing this article a five year old girl child from Parbatipurupazila of Dinajpur, was fighting for her life after being raped and tortured. We don't know whether she can come back to her normal life. Her body was burnt with cigarettes in parts and she had wounds in her private parts. Doctors were contemplating conducting a surgery as part of long-term treatment to heal the child but will it be possible for her to be healed from the mental trauma? 

Abuse of children in Bangladesh has become an epidemic that we fail to prevent despite having stringent laws, trial process, public outrage etc. Children are facing violence in a range of settings including at home and in the family, in schools and in care and justice systems, in workplaces and in the communities. Children are being brutally raped or tortured with the culprits hardly ever getting punished. 

A few weeks ago the nation celebrated the World Children Day and Child Rights Week 2016. Our Honourable Prime Minister urged all to build a society where there will be equal rights for all children. But where are we standing now? In a recent report titled "Children in Bangladesh-Progress Towards Commitment" launched by the Child Rights Advocacy Coalition in Bangladesh, shows, 1,095 children were killed in the last four years (2012- 2015) across the country. A number of 2,931 children died unnatural deaths alone in 2015 and shockingly 292 children were murdered. There is also an alarming rise of rape incidences; a total of 976 children were reported to be raped during the last four years in Bangladesh. Abduction of children is also increasing, as at least 572 children were kidnapped in the last four years. 

Bangladesh ShishuAdhikhar Forum (BSAF) maintains data of child killings and there are some shocking revelations. A total of 40 of the 292 children killed last year and 41 of 366 victims in 2014 were murdered by their parents. This trend has been fairly consistent and protection issues are clearly neglected.

Child Marriage is another big threat to the development of Bangladesh as the country has one of the highest rates of child marriage worldwide. According to a recent estimate, 39 percent of Bangladeshi girls are married before they are 15, 74 percent before they are 18.

In a recent report of Save the Children, Bangladesh ranks 111 among 144 countries on the Girls' Opportunity Index. The report ranks the countries according to opportunities provided to ensure development of girls. Child marriage, education, teenage pregnancy, maternal deaths and number of female representatives in national government are the five indicators used to rank a country in this index while Bangladesh has been placed in the lowest strata alongside Afghanistan. 'Child marriage' has been identified as the biggest obstacle to girls' development.

Bangladesh is one of the earliest signatories of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and it has been stated in Article 3(1) of the CRC, 'In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration'. Bangladesh government enacted the new Children Act in 2013 on the basis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and adopted the provisions for child-friendly justice and different kinds of professional responsibilities in a number of settings, such as, child help desks in the police station, separate children's court and child development centres, national child welfare board and provision of probation officers. Recently Honourable Prime Minister inaugurated the toll free 'Child Help Line – 1098.' 

Despite all these efforts, we still cannot prevent the abuse of children that we are seeing with each passing day. Law cannot function properly, if the society is not functioning properly. Ethics, values and morality have been playing a phenomenal role in child protection which requires an active participation from the individual member, family, community and society as a whole along with the processes of law. Meanwhile government needs to make sure the proper implementation of the law, Speedy Trial Tribunal for any form of violence against children.

It is encouraging to note that the government has decided to hold a speedy trial of the rape of a 5-year girl in Dinajpur. However, a comprehensive child protection mechanism must be developed involving all stakeholders including representatives from local government, judiciary, NGO and law enforcing agencies. 

Would there be a combined effort to ensure every last child is protected in Bangladesh? 

The writers are Senior Manager, Communication and Media, Save the Children and Senior Officer, Communication, Save the Children, respectively.