Name of the Problem:
Child abuse, which is common in Bangladeshi society, is on the rise. Both male and female children are subjected to sexual and physical abuse. Child abuse or maltreatment includes any form of physical or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent behavior, or commercial or other exploitation that causes actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power. (World Health Organization, 1999) Physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment or neglect of a kid or children is referred to as child abuse. Children are occasionally forced to work and are abused by their families.
Millions of children throughout the world are exposed to risk on a daily basis, drastically affecting their growth and development. Over half of Bangladesh’s population is under the age of 18, with over 20 million under the age of five. The majority of Bangladeshi children are denied these fundamental rights and are sexually and physically mistreated. Children charged or convicted of crimes are routinely placed with adult convicts who mistreat them. There are several types of child abuse:
i. Physical Abuse: Physical abuse includes beatings, shoving, biting, punching, choking, shaking, tossing, poisoning, burning, scorching, and drowning. When an adult employs physical violence against a kid, this is known as physical abuse. Any “non-accidental damage or physical injury” to a child is considered physical abuse, according to the American Humane Association.
ii. Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse includes cursing, swearing, attacks on self-esteem, blaming, and belittling children’s feelings. According to the American Psychological Association, “child psychological abuse is equally detrimental as sexual or physical abuse.”
iii. Sexual Abuse: Physical contact, such as rape or oral sex, as well as non-penetrative activities such as masturbating, kissing, stroking, and touching outside of clothing, are examples of coercion. Child sexual abuse is a type of kid abuse in which an adult teenager abuses a child for sexual excitement (CSA). Sexual abuse is defined as the participation of a child in a sexual act for the physical enjoyment or financial advantage of the individual perpetrating the act.
iv. Neglect: heartwarming, hurling, smashing, destroying things, punching walls, and hiding Supervisory Neglect, Physical Neglect, Medical Neglect, Emotional Neglect, Educational Neglect, and Abandonment are all examples of neglectful behavior.
v. Child Abandonment: The illegal relinquishment of rights and claims to one’s children with the goal of never resuming or reasserting guardianship is known as child abandonment. The phrase is most usually used to describe a child’s physical abandonment, but it can also apply to extreme situations of neglect and emotional abandonment, such as when parents fail to give their children financial and emotional care for a long period.
vi. Child Labor: In Bangladesh, there are a number of laws aimed to safeguard children, although they apply differently to children in different contexts. There is no one legislation that applies to all vulnerable situations in which children may find themselves. By raising public awareness about child education and risky child labor, strengthening family ties, early reporting of child abuse cases to law enforcement authorities, developing and sustaining prevention programs, and facilitating effective school-based child sexual abuse prevention programs across the country, the government can help protect our children’s rights.
Scenario of Bangladesh
Child labor is common, with more than half of primary school students dropping out before the fifth grade. Children can be endangered by human trafficking, sexual abuse, and exploitation. Child abuse is a global epidemic perpetrated by abusers with biological, psychological, or socio-cultural dysfunctions. In certain nations, son preference is also a key source of child abuse. According to the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, 1,383 children were sexually abused in 2019, a 72.32 percent rise from the previous year.
In 2018, 812 children were exposed to sexual torture, according to a study based on material released in the top 15 media outlets. The study went into detail into several sorts of child abuse, such as rape, attempted rape, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and others.
