STATISTICS shows a steady rise in rape and other sexual abuses of children, particularly female children in recent time. A three-year girl was raped in the city’s Kawran Bazar area Thursday. Another minor was raped at Mohammadpur area on Wednesday. Two other teenage girls were abused and later killed in Madaripur recently and the perpetrators later poisoned them to death. These are only few examples when killing of teenage boys by rouge elements also appears to be like cases of serial killings. The barbarity is escalating when civil resistance is yet to come and the government yet to prove that children’s safety is top on their priority. At least 349 children were raped or were attempted in the first seven months of the current year as Human Rights Agency reports said. They further said over 227 children were raped in 2014 up from 183 in 2013 and 91 in 2012.
As per Bangladesh Shishu Adikhar Forum between January 2012 and June 2015, a total of 235 children were kidnapped and rescued, 199 were trafficked and rescued and 468 received corporal punishment at schools. We have a law but not properly defined and fully implemented while the incident of rape is growing unprecedented spreading panic in the society. The Children Act 2013, passed over two years ago, to ensure children’s welfare and protection, remains almost ineffective as the government is yet to frame necessary rules and appoint Probation Officers at 470 Upazilas to start its functioning rolling. It is yet to set up children courts in districts and metropolitan areas, create effective help desks at police stations and set up Children Welfare Boards at national, district and upazila levels as stipulated in the law. In our view mere existence of law is not enough, the real test lies in political will and government initiative to make the law operational to bring real relief to the endangered children.
As we know the Children Act 2013 was passed in June 16, 2013 repealing the Children Act of 1974. But the law is confined in the law book while children are falling victim to rapist and other perpetrators almost on daily basis. They are so much insecure now than anytime before including severe physical and mental violence at home, workplaces and even in schools where they are physically punished degrading their values and traumatizing their life.
It is advisable that law enforcers must develop enhanced protective shield for children particularly in outdoor places while the rapists and such other perpetrators must be given exemplary punishment to send the message that abusing children will not be tolerated. Moreover, the Children Act must be quickly enforced to give safety to our children at all levels.
