Ending child abuse is imperative. Can the new government rise to the challenge?

The newly elected government of Bangladesh has assumed office at a critical moment. Strengthening the economy, reforming education, improving healthcare, and ensuring law and order are urgent national priorities. Yet no national progress will be meaningful if our children remain unsafe. Protecting children from physical, psychological, and sexual violence must be a defining priority of this government’s leadership.

Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees every child the right to protection from all forms of violence. Bangladesh’s National Children Policy 2011 and the Children Act, 2013 reaffirm this commitment. But laws on paper do not protect children in practice. Reports of child murder, rape, abduction, and cruel punishment have become disturbingly frequent. 

According to Ain o Salish Kendra, 410 children were killed and 456 were victims of rape in 2025 alone. These figures reflect only reported cases as countless children suffer from violence in silence. Preliminary findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025, jointly conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Unicef, indicate that 86 percent of children aged 1–14 experienced physical punishment in the month preceding the survey. 

One of the most pervasive and socially accepted forms of violence is corporal punishment. A World Health Organization (WHO) report presents overwhelming evidence: it harms children and provides no benefits. It is associated with physical injury, toxic stress, altered brain development, impaired socio-emotional growth, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, substance misuse, and suicidal behaviour. Rather than improving discipline, it increases aggression and antisocial behaviour. No credible research shows positive outcomes of corporal punishment. When trusted adults—parents and teachers—use violence, children learn that harm within close relationships is normal. Research shows that children who experience violence are more likely to perpetuate or endure violence later in life. Without eliminating corporal punishment, breaking the cycle of violence in society will remain impossible.

Sexual abuse leaves equally devastating and lasting consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal thoughts, anger, relationship difficulties, and educational disruption. Yet, many perpetrators remain unpunished. A culture of impunity—combined with deep-rooted attitudes that treat children as subordinate—sustains the crisis. In many cases, families remain silent to protect “family honour” when abuse is committed by relatives. Legal gaps and weak enforcement leave children vulnerable online as well.

Although the Ministry of Education banned corporal punishment in educational institutions in 2011, beatings and humiliation persist. Seventy countries have legally prohibited corporal punishment in all settings, including homes. Bangladesh is not yet among them. When hitting adults is a crime but hitting children is tolerated, the law itself becomes discriminatory. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 16.2—ending all forms of violence against children by 2030—eliminating corporal punishment is essential.

The newly elected government now has a historic opportunity to ensure that children grow up safely and realise their potential to the fullest. Cases related to violence against children must be investigated promptly, and perpetrators must face swift and exemplary justice. Survivors of sexual violence must receive comprehensive support—healthcare, legal aid, psychosocial counseling, and rehabilitation—without stigma or delay.

In line with the Children Act 2013, the child protection system must be strengthened from national to community levels. This requires clear planning, coordination, and adequate budget allocations. Ministries responsible for women and children, health, education, social welfare, and law must work collaboratively rather than in silos. Professionals across sectors need systematic training to identify, prevent, and respond to violence.

It is time to enact comprehensive legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings — homes, schools, workplaces, and alternative care institutions. The existing ban in educational institutions must be strictly enforced and monitored. Experiences from countries such as Sweden, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, and Romania demonstrate that legal reform, combined with public awareness campaigns, reduces both acceptance and prevalence of corporal punishment over time. 

The Interim Government approved the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Ordinance 2026. The ordinance is designed to replace the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010 and broadens the definition of domestic violence to include physical, psychological, sexual, financial, and digital violence. The law aims to protect women and children, prevent domestic abuse, ensure speedy trials, and establish survivor-centric remedies. The newly elected government should enact it into law.

Child protection online requires urgent attention. Relevant laws—including the Children Act, ICT Act, Cyber Security Act (replaced by the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025), and Pornography Control Act—must be harmonised to close loopholes. Online child abuse cases should be tried effectively in cybercrime tribunals. Law enforcement agencies must strengthen their capacity to collect and preserve digital evidence.

Educational institutions, government and non-government organisations, media outlets, and all other institutions that work in any capacity with children must develop and implement child protection policies to ensure children are safe when they interact with adults in those settings.

Reliable data is essential. Improved data collection and disaggregation are needed to understand how violence affects different groups of children. Key Sustainable Development Goal indicators related to violence must be prioritised in national reporting.

Parents and teachers need practical training in positive, non-violent child-rearing and teaching methods. Positive discipline principles should be integrated into professional training curricula for health workers, educators, and social service providers. Children themselves must be informed about their rights and how to seek help. Comprehensive awareness initiatives in schools are urgently required. Respecting children’s opinions and ensuring that their voices are heard at different stages of the process to end violence is the responsibility of government and non-government staff, as well as all relevant stakeholders. The media also has a responsibility. Reporting should go beyond sensational cases and include sustained coverage that promotes awareness, accountability, and children’s rights.

All forms of violence against children are preventable. What has been missing is consistent political will. The newly elected government has the mandate and the moral responsibility to lead. If the new government demonstrates strong leadership in ending violence against children by taking decisive legal and institutional measures, it will inspire action across various sectors of society. History will judge this government not only by economic growth or infrastructure projects, but by whether it protected its most vulnerable citizens. The time to lead is now.

Laila Khondkar is an international development worker.