LOCAL and international media reported that the United Nations found in its study that one child dies every five minutes as a result of violence, but only a minority die in the war zones. Ironically, about 75 percent of the estimated 345 violent deaths that occur daily happen in countries at peace. According to the report, millions of children are vulnerable to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and their mental and physical health getting permanently damaged by violence every day in their homes, schools or communities perpetuated by criminal offenders including close relatives.
UN officials also shared how families do not bother going to the authorities because they know it will not be helpful. Similar report by UNICEF also added that children who are victims of violence have brain activity similar to soldiers exposed to combat and more than 30% of them are likely to develop long-lasting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. This not only sheds light on the fact that children living in poverty are more likely to be victims of violence, it also explains why most children feel unsafe in their homes, schools and communities. Some blame rapid urbanisation and youth unemployment for the situation, others blame rising inequality. Children of broken families become the most vulnerable prey to such distressful situations because they lead a very insecured life, in respect of love and family bondage that often ended in utter frustration.
A similar situation exists in our country where children — especially girls, can be married off even at the tender age of 12 years, and naturally become exposed to sexual and physical abuse by their husbands who may ultimately leave them vulnerable to exploitation by different social sections. Exploited children tend to exploit others and the endemic cycle of violence continues. It explains why some 87 percent of Bangladeshi women are abused by their husbands. In any society where children are harmed, women will be the next. Laws to protect them exist only on paper as domestic violence cases are rarely brought to court — leaving the people who have the most power to harm children and women free to do basically whatever they wish. Economic insecurity of the poor segment of the society serves as the core cause of problem of child-fatality.
Admittedly, there are laws in Bangladesh to dispense justice to the victims or to provide legal protection to this weaker section – under-aged children – of the society. But, in practice, such paper laws are rarely put into practice. Hence, what is most needed is the change of mind-set of the society itself. The society and its adults need to be more kind and caring to its younger generation in rearing them up in an environment of love and security, not in exploitative and cruel conditions.
