All forms of crime up

Child marriages, rapes and rape attempts, as reported in the media, saw a sharp rise last year compared to that of 2015, says a new survey conducted by the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).

Almost all the victims were girls.

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At least 22 children died and 69 were seriously injured out of the 304 rapes of children in 2016. Only six of the victims were boys, 259 were girls and the sex of the rest was not mentioned in the media reports.

There were 290 rapes of children the previous year.

Besides, the newspapers reported 83 cases of child marriages last year, which was only 11 in 2015.

Of the victims of 2016, four girls died -- one committed suicide failing to accept the marriage, one was killed by parents, one was killed by the in-laws for failure to pay dowry and the reason for the other's death could not be known.

“The girls were forced to marry men nearly double their ages,” said Abdullah Al Mamun, programme coordinator of MJF, while presenting the survey report at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

Kazi Reazul Hoque, chairman of National Human Rights Commission, addresses a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday. Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), right, and Abdullah Al Mamun, its programme coordinator, left, at the MJF event where a report titled Bangladesh Child Rights Situation-2016 was presented. Photo: Collected

The survey report “Bangladesh Child Rights Situation 2016” was prepared on the basis of reports published in six major national newspapers. He said the report does not show the actual situation of children in the country, but reflects on the trend.

National Human Rights Commission Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque expressed his sheer frustration over the passage of Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2017 that allows, under a special provision, a boy or a girl to get married before reaching the minimum age.

The “special circumstances” provision of the law passed on February 27 would permit parents or a boy or a girl's guardians to get a court order and marry their wards off “for their best interests” even before they reach the minimum marriageable age. No age limit was specified there.

“Child marriage means violation of human rights. In that, children are deprived of education, sporting and natural development,” said Kazi Reazul Hoque while speaking as the chief guest at the programme.

Such special provision of the law would encourage child marriage, he said.

Now that the law has been passed, the rules of the law should be such that the special provision of the law could not be misused, said MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam.

“We have to monitor the issue of child marriage very strictly,” she said.

On the rise of violations of child rights, Shaheen Anam said violence against children and women continues because the criminals are not brought to book in most cases.

Abdullah Al Mamun said the newspapers reported 408 incidents of repression on children, which was 393 in 2015.

“Not only the number of incidents of violence, but also its severity has increased,” he said.

At least 11 children were killed and 397 were injured in such incidents of violence in 2016.

According to the survey report, 1,536 children were affected by the lack of medical treatment, wrong treatment, unknown diseases and other sicknesses.

Also, 52,300 children were affected by various problems, including shortage of teachers in schools, education materials and excessive school fees.

Road accidents, murder and murder attempts, kidnap or kidnap attempts, suicide, acid and political violence affected fewer numbers of children in 2016 than that of 2015.

For example, 221 children were affected by road accidents last year and 173 of them were killed, while the figure of the affected was 357 in 2015.

There were some good news in 2016, including media reports on the achievements of children, their exam results, and art and extracurricular activity competitions.

There were 133 media reports on the enforcement of laws regarding child rights violations and trials of cases in which children were the victims.

Of the 133, 50 were on halting child marriages, and 40 were on bringing child rapists to book, says the survey report.

The report recommended setting up of a separate directorate for children, and forming a national child protection framework to coordinate all government and non-government activities involving children.

It also suggested allocating separate budget for children and making sure all anti-pornography laws are enforced.