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Sexual Abuse and

Commercial Exploitation
of Children
Elements for a National Strategy and Plan of Action
UNICEF Bangladesh
March 2011
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The study on 'Sexual Abuse and Commercial Exploitation of Children: Elements for a National
Strategy and Plan of Action' was conducted, the data analyzed and the text written by Thrse
Blanchet, anthropologist. She was assisted by her team of the Drishti Research Centre
Hannan Biswas, Anisa Zaman, Masuda Akhtar Lucky and Noor Islam Pappu.
Our appreciation goes out to the non-governmental organizations - namely Aparajeyo
Bangladesh, Association for Community Development, Breaking the Silence, Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), Development Initiative for Social Advancement,
Society for Social Services and INCIDIN Bangladesh - who gave up their valuable time for the
benefit of this study. We are also particularly grateful to the children and adolescents who
shared their problems, observations and stories.
Furthermore, we extend our gratitude to all who participated in the 'National Consultation on
the Rio Declaration and Call for Action of World Congress III to Prevent Sexual Abuse and
Exploitation of Children: Way Forward for Bangladesh', which was held on 17 December 2009.
Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Honourable State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children's
Affairs, who demonstrated great support for the National Consultation and for this study,
deserves our special thanks. Appreciation also to Dr. Nomita Halder, Project Director (Deputy
Secretary) of the Empowerment and Protection of Children Project for her faithful and
continued interest in this issue.
Finally, deep gratitude goes to Ms. Rose-Anne Papavero, Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF
Bangladesh and her colleagues, Yuko Osawa, Shabnaaz Zahereen and Asna Zareen, who
supported this study by sharing documents, facilitating meetings and assisting with extensive
field research. We also thank Catharine Margaret Way who edited the final text.
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FOREWORD
One of UNICEF's core commitments, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is to
ensure that children grow up in an environment where they will be cared for and protected
against violence, abuse and exploitation. However, the grim reality is that children in Bangladesh
are highly vulnerable and many experience sexual abuse and exploitation not only behind the
closed doors of brothels but in households, schools and on the streets, in every sector of society.
In 2002, the Government of Bangladesh formulated a National Plan of Action against Sexual
Abuse, Exploitation of Children including Trafficking (NPA-SAECT). This followed the Yokohama
Global Commitment 2001, which came about as a result of the World Congress II on Sexual
Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Later, the Rio de Janeiro Declaration and Call for
Action made several important recommendations which were adopted at the World Congress III
in Brazil in 2008. To build on these global and national efforts, UNICEF commissioned this study,
which was conducted by an independent consultant, Ms. Thrse Blanchet.
This publication looks at the various ways in which sexual abuse and exploitation are currently
present in Bangladeshi society, examines the consequences of such activity and evaluates
existing response mechanisms. It also reviews the NPA, assesses progress on implementation
and identifies specific gaps.
The study findings confirm a bleak reality and confront us with a daunting task. The real-life
stories featured in the study highlight the devastating long term impacts of sexual abuse on
victims (both boys and girls), their families and society at large. Such impacts are exacerbated
by a cultural tendency to 'manage' the dishonor suffered by victims of sexual abuse rather than
to offer support and address issues of trauma. Appropriate condemnation and prosecution of
sexual offenders - predominantly men who often hold positions of power - is also lacking, despite
relevant legislation.
This document also exposes the serious issue of sexual abuse of boys which has failed to be
properly recognized in the past. Alarmingly, it also shows that boys are becoming frequent clients
of prostitutes. This could be one consequence of growing up in environment of limited interaction
between the genders in the name of purity and morality.
Following this report, UNICEF Bangladesh has formed a working committee of concerned
Government and civil society representatives under the leadership of the MoWCA. The
committee has conducted service mapping and training needs assessment as a first step toward
strengthening the capacity of frontline organisations and social workers. This would ensure that
child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation receive better care, treatment and rehabilitation
services.
I hope that this report will assist policy makers, researchers and programme implementers to
better protect children at risk.
We reiterate our commitment to support the Government of Bangladesh in its efforts for children
and women and look forward to the day when children are able to fully realize their rights in a
society free of violence, abuse and exploitation.
Carel de Rooy
Representative
UNICEF Bangladesh
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ii
Foreword iii
Acronyms viii
Executive Summary 01
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW 03
1.1 Purpose and Objective 03
1.2 Literature Review 03
1.3 Appraisal of Terms and Concepts 05
1.3.1 The meaning of sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and 05
trafficking
1.3.2 Emphasis on children living in the street and in brothels 06
1.3.3 The Convention on the Rights of the Child and children's evolving 06
capacities
1.3.4 Sex and gender 06
1.3.5 Social morality and human rights 06
1.3.6 Child marriage: illegal but not illegitimate 07
1.4 Methods 07
PART TWO: FIELD RESEARCH
CHAPTER 2. SEXUAL ABUSE OF GIRLS 09
2.1 Meanings, Consequences and Management 10
2.2 Failure to Apply the Law 10
2.2.1 Choosing discretion over justice 11
2.2.2 Justice sought but not served 17
2.2.3 Successful recourse to the judiciary 20
2.3 Mandated Care for Rape Victims 22
2.4 Summary 23
CHAPTER 3. SEXUAL ABUSE OF BOYS 25
3.1 Vocabulary of Sexual Abuse against Boys 25
3.2 Sexual Abuse at Work 26
3.2.1 Abuse by employers with impunity 26
3.2.2 Abuse with punishment for the abuser 31
3.3 Abuse in the Middle Class 32
3.4 Abuse of Madrassah Students 33
3.5 Abuse of Boys Living on the Street 34
3.6 Boys and Sex Work 35
3.7 Boys Sexually Abused by Women 36
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CHAPTER 4. SEXUAL ABUSE OF GIRLS IN MARRIAGE 39
4.1 Incidence of Child Marriage 39
4.2 Faint Signs of Change 42
4.3 Summary 43
CHAPTER 5. ADOLESCENTS ENGAGED IN PROSTITUTION 45
5.1 Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Other Labels 45
5.2 Age and Location of Girls Engaged in Sex Work 46
5.3 The Slippery Slope from Sexual Abuse to Prostitution 47
5.4 Prostitution among Girls Living on the Street 54
5.4.1 'Marriage' for protection on the street 55
5.4.2 Solidarity among sex workers 55
5.5 Services for Girls on the Street 57
5.6 Boys in Prostitution 58
5.6.1 The difficulty of identifying boy prostitutes 59
5.6.2 Caution in reaching out to underage boy and girl prostitutes 59
CHAPTER 6. YOUNG CLIENTS OF PROSTITUTES 61
6.1 An Introduction to Manhood 61
6.2 Boy Clients of Prostitutes: Perpetrators or Victims? 66
PART THREE: ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION
CHAPTER 7. REVIEW OF NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION 2002 69
7.1 General Comments 69
7.1.1 Conflating of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking 69
7.1.2 Insufficient attention to sex and gender 70
7.1.3 Narrow focus on children on the street and in brothels 70
7.1.4 Failure to include parents as partners 70
7.2 Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation 70
7.2.1 Issue 1: Children's lack of knowledge/awareness regarding their
rights and the risks relating to abuse/exploitation/trafficking
and those associated with certain adolescent behaviours 70
7.2.2 Issue 2: Low level of societal awareness on child rights and the sexual
abuse/exploitation/trafficking of children 71
7.2.3 Issue 3: Ensuring that all children have access to quality basic
education; and
Issue 4: Increasing non-agricultural livelihood options for vulnerable
adolescents 72
7.2.4 Issue 5: Children and their families are not fully aware of the potential
risks and benefits of migration 73
7.2.5 Issue 6: Protecting children from sexual abuse by staff working in
institutions, facilities or organizations serving them 73
7.2.6. Issue 7: Laws and policies to prevent child sexual abuse/exploitation and
trafficking are not sufficiently effective 73
7.2.7 Issue 8: Elimination of child marriage 73
7.2.8 Issue 10: Research to enhance the understanding of sexual
abuse/exploitation and trafficking 74
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7.3 Protection of Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation 75
7.3.1 Issue 1: Birth registration 75
7.3.2 Issue 2: To establish structures to identify and report cases of sexual
abuse/exploitation and refer them for support 75
7.3.3 Issue 3: To create safe havens to strengthen the capacity of
children at risk or victims of sexual abuse or exploitation to
protect themselves from abuse 76
7.3.4 Issue 4: Appropriate laws and policies and effective implementation
to protect children against sexual abuse, exploitation and
trafficking 76
7.3.5 Issue 5: The double victimization of children who are blamed by society
following sexual abuse/exploitation/trafficking 77
7.3.6 Issue 6: Media reports and respect for the victim's privacy 77
7.4 Recovery and Reintegration of Abused and Exploited Children 77
7.4.1 Issue 1: To give victims an opportunity to take part in their recovery and
identify the most appropriate reintegration options for them 77
7.4.2 Issue 2: To ensure that child victims have access to all necessary
support services to aid their recovery and prepare them for
social reintegration 78
7.4.3 Issue 3: To create a receptive environment to the reintegration
of child victims in their families and communities 78
7.5 Addressing Perpetrators 79
7.5.1 Issue 1: Build profiles of the different kinds of perpetrators of
child sexual abuse/exploitation/trafficking to identify appropriate
preventive and protective strategies 79
7.5.2 Issue 2: To apprehend and prosecute alleged perpetrators of sexual
abuse/exploitation and trafficking of children 80
7.5.3 Issue 3: To develop and pilot non-judicial, community-based
measures for dealing with perpetrators (especially children) 80
7.5.4 Issue 4: Lack of awareness regarding child rights, gender equality,
reproductive health, the illegality of child sexual
abuse/exploitation/trafficking and the harmful impact on victims 80
7.6 Addressing Child Participation 81
7.6.1 Issue 1: To ensure a high degree of participation by children
in implementation and monitoring of the NPA 81
7.6.2 Issue 2: Increase children's awareness on their right to participate
and build their capacity to do so 81
7.6.3 Issue 3: Raise awareness of parents, teachers and other key adults
regarding children's right to participate 82
7.6.4 Issue 4: Increase opportunities for participation of
non-school-going children 82
7.6.5 Issue 5: To monitor effectiveness of children's participation in
implementing the NPA 82
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7.7 Addressing HIV/AIDS, STIs and Substance Abuse 82
7.7.1 Issue 1: All children need to know about sexuality, sexual hygiene and
their vulnerability, especially victims of sexual abuse/exploitation,
to reduce negative health consequences 82
7.7.2 Issue 2: To achieve widespread use of safer sex practices among those
who sexually exploit children and child victims 83
7.7.3 Issue 3: To provide information to sexually exploited/abused children
relating to STIs and HIV/AIDS and sufficient and appropriate
facilities for testing 83
7.7.4 Issue 4: To inform/educate the general public about HIV/AIDS in order to
avoid misconceptions and stigmatization of those living with
the illness 84
7.7.5 Issue 5: To reduce the harm caused by tobacco, alcohol or other drugs
by children living in brothels or living/working on the street 84
7.8 Coordination and Monitoring 84
CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 85
8.1 Promotion of Child Rights to the Wider Public 85
8.2 Distingishing between Child Sexual Abuse, Exploitation and Trafficking 85
8.3 Child Sexual Abuse 85
8.4 The Law and Difficulties in its Application 86
8.5 Sex Education in Schools 86
8.6 Employer Responsibilities to Child Employees 87
8.7 Shelter Homes and Drop-in Centres 88
8.8 Girls Engaged in Prostitution 88
8.9 Boy Clients of Prostitutes 88
8.10 The Need for Research 89
APPENDIX 1. LITERATURE REVIEW 90
APPENDIX 2. LOCATIONS OF FIELD WORK 93
APPENDIX 3. CATEGORY OF ABUSERS 95
APPENDIX 4. PERSONS INTERVIEWED 97
APPENDIX 5. GLOSSARY 102
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ACRONYMS
ACD Association for Community Development
APON Adolescent Peers Organized Network
BIWTA Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority
BNWLA Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association
BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Children
CSEC Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
CVSAE Child Victim of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
DISA Development Initiative for Social Advancement
ECPAT End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Exploitation Purposes
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NPA National Plan of Action
PCAR Protection of Children at Risk
STI Sexually Transmitted Infection
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The main purpose of this study is to review and assess the 2002 National Plan of Action to
Combat Child Sexual Abuse, Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking. Sexual abuse
and commercial sexual abuse are emphasized; trafficking is addressed in a separate exercise.
The first step was field research, conducted in rural and urban communities, schools, work
sites and brothels and among children of/on the street. Programmes aiming to empower
adolescents and enhance life skills - such as APON and Adolescents' Journey (Kishori Abhijan)
- were visited. Discussions were held with students, teachers, parents, child workers,
employers, managers and implementers of NGO and government projects serving children.
Observations, interviews, consultations and focus group discussions were conducted with
informants, who were met on their own territory (community, work place, NGO site). Girls and
boys who were victims of sexual abuse, girls who were married as children, girls engaged in
prostitution and boy clients of prostitutes were invited to discuss their experiences. The
numbers interviewed are small. Qualitative analysis was given priority over quantity of
interviews.
Literature and programmes have associated child sexual abuse with commercial sexual
exploitation and trafficking as though sexually abused children stood on a slippery slope and
the sequence of events was inevitable. Such a scenario applies in some cases, but the
amalgam of terms has been unhelpful. The 'slippery slope' should be critically examined, not
assumed. It is important to ask about the circumstances in which sexual abuse leads to
prostitution and trafficking and how slippery the slope is for differently positioned children.
The issue of child sexual abuse, which concerns a population far larger than commercial
sexual exploitation, has been neglected. The many dimensions of this complex problem have
been little explored. The different meanings and consequences for girls and for boys at
different ages and in different socio-economic classes are minimized with reference to a
socially non-specific universal 'child'. Donor-funded projects aimed to assist children on the
street and in brothels. These children deserve attention, but the trees at the edge should not
hide the forest behind. Support for victims of sexual abuse within 'good' society has been
almost non-existent.
NGOs operating within the paradigm of 'sexually abused children' have been ill-equipped to
reach out to adolescents working in prostitution who deny being children and refuse to be
called victims, despite being under the age of 18. The attempt to use a politicially correct
definition of 'child' led to a failure to address sexual agency, sexual maturity and age of
consent. Since gender has been wrongly taken to mean the feminine, focusing on the 'child'
helped to pay greater attention to boys, which is positive. However, a sexless 'child' does not
exist. Constructions of gender and sexual identities among adolescents have been little
explored. Children as 'victims' dominate the agenda.
The study found perpetrators of child sexual abuse to be men in the vast majority of cases.
Abusers of girls are sons of influential families, factory supervisors, boys on the street and
'uncles' or others connected to families. Abusers of boys are senior co-workers, employers,
older boys on the street and teachers. Perpetrators are mostly below the age of 30. The socio-
political context that allows, justifies and/or facilitates the sexual abuse of girls and boys is
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identified as an area for research in the strategy. However, it remains to be seriously
addressed.
Of 68 cases of sexual abuse investigated, the law was activated only twice. The report
underlines the fact that what society considers legitimate differs markedly from the law. Girls
who suffer rape and girls who consent to illicit sex are similarly branded defiled. Personal
agency is made irrelevant. Understandings of rape and vulnerability to sexual abuse are not
marginal issues: they stand at the core of gender constructions. Rape taken to mean loss of
purity and honour applies only to girls; in that sense, boys cannot be raped. These deeply
ingrained notions of gender need to be addressed and challenged.
Rape is not recognized within marriage (there is no loss of honour when a husband rapes his
wife). Though child marriage is illegal, it is not seen as illegitimate. As presently constituted,
arbitration at community level (shalish) cannot be relied upon to combat child marriage. Birth
registration does not stop child marriage (which is illegal), as those officiating who ignore the
girl's age incur little risk. If birth and marriage registers were computerized nationally, it might
be easier to penalize those who break the law.
The 'slippery slope' imagined from sexual abuse to prostitution to trafficking suggests a moral
descent. Yet girls engaged in prostitution reveal that they experienced greater abuse before,
not after, taking up the occupation. The average income of girl sex workers is quite high. Young
prostitutes discard the ethos of victim and are not attracted to NGOs offering rescue. NGOs
serving sex workers provide health services to these girls by hiding the age of those under 18.
Such 'children' squat in a no-man's land.
Most of the issues, objectives and strategies included in the NPA 2002 for the Prevention,
Protection Recovery and Rehabilitation of CSA and CSEC remain valid. Implementation is
ongoing in some fields but has not begun in others.
One of the main recommendations is that schools should be put to better use. Sexuality should
be addressed in child-friendly language, and teachers and parents should be convinced to
address the issue. Cinema, pornographic material and prostitution play a major role in
instructing boys about sex, and they have nowhere to learn about respect for self and others.
The spirit of the Convention should inform educational philosophy and be given more
importance, beginning in primary teaching institutes and teacher training colleges.
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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND
LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Purpose and Objective
This report summarizes a review of the National Plan of Action 2002 on the Sexual Abuse,
Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children. The review assesses the
relevance and appropriateness of the issues, objectives and strategies and identified partners
as a first step in updating the document. The focus is on sexual abuse and commercial sexual
exploitation (mainly prostitution); trafficking is addressed in a separate exercise.
Part One, presents a review of the literature followed by a critical appraisal of key concepts
and a discussion of the philosophy generally reflected in the NPA 2002. Part Two, presents the
results of the field investigation conducted in communities, work sites, urban slums, the street,
brothels and other locations, providing a useful perspective for reviewing the issues, objectives
and strategies spelled out in the Plan and the programmes designed and implemented by the
different partners. Part Three, Assessment of the NPA 2002, examines the objectives and
strategies elaborated under the Plan's different headings, including Prevention, Protection,
Recovery and Rehabilitation, Perpetrators, Child Participation and HIV/AIDS and Substance
Abuse. The report concludes with recommendations.
1.2 Literature Review
The national literature on the sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of
children is extensive (see Appendix 1). Themes relate to programmatic action, and the quality
of the literature varies widely. The review revealed that little time is devoted to studies
presented as action research, situation analysis and rapid appraisals; samples are small; and
the conclusions reached are not always supported by the data. On the whole, there has been
little in-depth, broad-based research by professionals or academics on childhood,
adolescence, sexuality, the transition to adulthood, migration, urbanization and the
transformation of the family and other issues that affect the conditions of childhood and
adolescence. Input from the social sciences is weak.
The authorship of studies is not always clear as names are not always provided. The
objectivity required in research is often lacking, and documents are cluttered with moralistic
language and emotive appeals, which often mask the lack of data. Statistics are not presented
consistently; for instance, one report states that child sexual abuse is increasing at an alarming
rate yet a few lines later states that it has always existed. It should be recognized that no
reliable information on the increase or decrease in incidence of sexual abuse exist. Sexual
abuse, prostitution and trafficking of children and adolescents are certainly not new
phenomena. Perceptions, definitions and interests in these matters continue to change,
making comparison of incidence over time highly problematic.
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Yet experience and knowledge have been collected through programmes conducted with
children living and/or working on the street and in brothels. Good practices have been
documented and circulated, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have shared case
management strategies, educational methods, approaches for counselling after trauma and
ways of working with police and local authorities. Literature shows that organizations remain
divided in their philosophies and outlooks. Some are 'abolitionists', advocating an end to all
prostitution among children under the age of 18; others do not consider this a realistic
objective and instead focus on protecting the health and human rights of those in the trade.
Regardless of philosophies, the reality on the ground demands flexibility.
A few high-quality studies have been made of legal issues, clearly identifying problems and
solutions. The poor implementation of laws is acknowledged; explaining why would require
multi-disciplinary research, but such collabortion is rare. The need for clinical psychologists to
deal with victims of trauma led to a critical review of the state of the discipline in Bangladesh.
Trained psychologists are hard to find, and few organizations employ professionals to assist
victims of sexual abuse or conduct individual and family therapy. Lack of familiarity with
psychology and negative views of it have hampered development of the discipline. Within
NGOs, the loose interpretation given to the title 'counsellor' causes confusion, as no
professional standards exist to regulate the title.
The literature fails to address many important issues and practices related to sexual abuse. No
critical study could be found of community level arbitration (shalish) dealing with the sexual
abuse of girls and why such interventions are not found for boys. No research has been
conducted on perpetrators of child sexual abuse, who are overwhelmingly male. What
constitutes abuse and who are the abusers are not critically examined, especially in relation to
mainstream society.
A heavy silence covers the sexual abuse of girls within marriage. Boys' sexual abuse is
recognized among street children, but the topic is little investigated in the society at large.
Quickly evolving technology and particularly the instruments that support the spread of
pornography (Internet, digital video disks, mobile phones, digital audio players) are discussed
in the media, but the research is not keeping up with these developments and their impact on
adolescent behaviour.
The literature in Bangladesh reflects international developments. Words such as 'prostitute' or
'prostitution' disappeared from the vocabulary, as newer terminology (commercial sexual
exploitation of children, or CSEC) was adopted. In the Declaration issued after World Congress
III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (Rio de Janeiro, November 2008),
CSEC disappeared, replaced by the expression 'sexually exploited children'; then 'children'
was replaced by 'children and adolescents'. The addition of 'adolescents' is welcome even
though its definition is not obvious.
In a thematic paper prepared for World Congress III, Judith Ennew (2008) deplored the fact
that sexual tourism and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes had hijacked the agenda.
She argued that a focus on movement/migration/transport of perpetrators and trafficking of
children had taken attention away from the relations of exploitation within which prostitution
takes place in specific localities. Most abusers of children are local men and not foreign
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tourists, she wrote. Sexual tourism is less of a problem in Bangladesh, but trafficking of
children is a major theme of activists working on CSEC, and some organizations have gone to
considerable lengths to fit many street children into the category of 'trafficked', underlining their
lack of agency and lack of control as 'children' under the age of 18. NGOs may have been
influenced by the availability of donor funding earmarked to combat child trafficking.
There is tension in the international literature between authors who, on the one hand, underline
the variability of constructions of childhood historically and across societies and those, on the
other hand, who proclaim universal standards and define uniform criteria of risks and
vulnerabilities for all 'children' under the age of 18. These divergent positions largely follow
from the specific orientation of historians, sociologists and anthropologists on the one hand
and the more formal and global orientation of legalists on the other hand. This is a challenge
for a National Plan of Action required to conform with universal criteria of child rights while
adopting strategies adequate for specific populations, institutional practices and socio-cultural
contexts.
1.3 Appraisal of Terms and Concepts
1.3.1 The meaning of sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and
trafficking
A critical appraisal of key terms and concepts expressed in literature, policies and programmes
is necessary. The regular merging of child sexual abuse commercial sexual exploitation and
trafficking into one 'bundle' unfairly combines different situations that may be linked for some
children but not for others. Vulnerabilities are understood as proceeding from one to the other
as though sexually abused children stand on a 'slippery slope' and the sequence leading to
prostitution is inevitable. This view stems from work with specific populations, such as children
living in brothels or on the street and trafficked children. Amalgamating sexual abuse with
commercial sexual exploitation is confusing and unhelpful. The terms should be kept separate,
and the extent of the 'slippery slope' from sexual abuse to prostitution or other forms of
commercial exploitation should be critically examined. The key question is, who are the
sexually abused children who eventually enter prostitution, and what are the conditions that
lead to that end? This is a matter for investigation, not assumption.
Child sexual abuse is found in all classes of society. Often hidden, it affects a far larger
population than does commercial sexual exploitation, and it is a problem urgently in need of
attention. Casual observation and research show that it leads to prostitution only in particular
circumstances. The relationship between prostitution and trafficking also needs careful
research. Trafficking does not always involve prostitution, and prostitution does not always
entail trafficking. The matter is further complicated by the lack of a clear definition of these
terms. In some cases, prostitution does involve sexual abuse and trafficking, and that justifies
associating the terms, but only in those cases. The debate on these issues has been
passionate and divisive, nationally and globally. The purpose here is not to rescucitate the
polemics but to clarify concepts and strive to disentangle facts from ideologies. Ideologies
should not be woven into facts but made explicit and transparent.
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1.3.2 Emphasis on children living in the street and in brothels
Since the 2002 NPA, NGO projects have mostly addressed children living on the streets and in
brothels. These very visible populations living at the margin of society shock and disturb
people's sensibilities. These children are far removed from the ideal of the protected and
innocent childhood, and they certainly deserve attention. Yet less visible populations also need
attention. The definition of 'child sexual exploitation' adopted by the NPA 2002 reads: "Child
sexual exploitation involves a commercial transaction, through exchange and/or perceived
exchanged in cash or kind. It includes street-based and brothel-based prostitution, trafficking in
boys and girls for sexual purposes, child sex tourism and child pornography."
1
The focus on
street-based and brothel-based children is also reflected in the strategies spelled out in the
NPA, no doubt resulting from the influential role played by NGOs working with these
populations in drafting the document.
1.3.3 The Convention on the Rights of the Child and children's evolving capacities
The emergence of agency, sexual maturity and age of consent varies in different contexts, but
these are normally manifested before the age of 18. Shishu, the Bangla word selected to
translate 'child' in the CRC, refers to a stage of innocence, clearly before the development of
sexual agency. The CRC contributed to expanding the meaning of the word, but its extension
up to the age of 18 remains misunderstood in several contexts. The difficulty of
accommodating sexuality within the concept of childhood (shishukal) has been a source of
problems, conceptually and programmatically. Organizations whose paradigm emphasizes the
sexual exploitation of children are ill equipped to reach out to populations that, while under the
age of 18, are sexually active and emphatically reject the label of 'child'. The replacement of
'children' with 'children and adolescents' at World Congress III is a welcome change in this
respect. The 'evolving capacities' of children is a concept that needs to be viewed more
dynamically and operationally.
1.3.4 Sex and Gender
The focus on the child in the terms 'child sexual abuse' and 'child commercial sexual
exploitation' blot out sex and gender. Discussions of gender have primarily considered girls,
while focusing on the child increased the attention paid to boys, which is welcome. The risk is
in creating a sexless and genderless 'child', an ethereal entity that exists nowhere.
Child sexual abuse requires an understanding of sexualities and a comprehension of what it
means to grow up to become an adult 'man' or 'woman'. For example, studies have shown that
boys who sell sex do not endorse the identity of 'prostitute' as readily as do girls unless they
identify with the feminine in same-sex relationships. Following the adoption of NPA 2002, little
progress has been made on researching gender, sexual identities and sexual agency. Children
as 'victims' dominate the agenda.
1.3.5 Social morality and human rights
The Suppression of Violence Against Women and Children Act 2000 (revised in 2003) is a
strong law that addresses sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in line
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with human rights principles. However, as this review confirmed, in the great majority of cases,
justice is not sought and the law is not applied. When cases of sexual abuse are brought for
arbitration at community level (shalish), (for girls only), the principles and values upheld do not
correspond to standards of child rights. In fact, some of the means for addressing sexual
abuse are quite contrary to realization of human rights, such as marrying the victim to her
rapist - a common resolution proposed and implemented at shalish. Abused girls bear the
brunt of punitive sanctions as they are considered 'stained' or defiled and may be pregnant.
They are assumed to be noshto (spoiled), a status that applies equally to girls who are victims
of rape and to those who voluntarily engage in non-marital sexual relationships. Granting the
same status to girls who do and do not consent to sexual acts makes personal agency
irrelevant.
While girls are considered highly vulnerable to defilement, boys are not; there is a sense that
boys cannot be raped. These notions are not peripheral but stand at the core of gender
constructions. The sexual abuse of boys may be shameful but it is not a matter for public
intervention as it does not threaten public morality. No shalish held for the sexual abuse of
boys has been witnessed.
2
1.3.6 Child marriage: Illegal but not illegitimate
Though child marriage is illegal, it is not seen as illegitimate. Child marriage does not offend
the morality of society. Guardians arrange marriages and young people are expected to
consent and obey: this is the consent that matters. Reluctant child wives are commonly told
that they must go to their husbands because they have been 'sold' to them. The law forbidding
marriage of girls below the age of 18 is regularly broken. Again, important discrepancies in
notions of legitimacy at community level and in the national law are manifest.
1.4 Methods
Part Two presents the result of the fieldwork undertaken as a prelude to the assessment of the
NPA. The research deals with sexual abuse of girls and boys, sexual abuse within marriage,
girls' prostitution and boy clients of prostitutes.
Attempts were made to include rural and urban populations of different socio-economic levels
to get a reasonably broad representation of practices and behaviours. Some of the
communities selected had been the sites of previous research and could be accessed with
relative ease. (See Appendix 2 for fieldwork sites.)
Field work was completed within three and a half months. The net was thrown large
considering the dearth of data, especially on issues not covered by NGO programmes. The
research team comprised three women and two men. All except one were well experienced
and had dealt with similar issues in previous research. Without this experience and the relative
accessibility of communities, it would have been impossible to obtain the same richness of
data in the limited time available. In spite of the limitations, the exercise raises useful questions
and widens the scope for a critical appraisal of the NPA.
7
2
In a village shatkhira arbitrators cancelled an arbitration assembly after a 12-year-old boy accused of theft by his employer
declared in the public assembly that the employer had sexually used him. The unspeakable had been said, and the men
presiding left at once.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 16 31/03/2011 2 3 30
The investigation was conducted at sites where children work, on the street, in urban slums
and in brothels. It was not limited to children without parental care and included sexual abuse
and exploitation within mainstream society, which is the least covered by research.
Secondary schools were visited. National curricula were examined, particularly lessons on
personal hygiene, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Discussions were held with parents and
teachers, and students were interviewed individually and in groups. Madrassah teachers and
students were included to the extent possible. Programmes aiming to empower adolescents
and enhance their life skills were reviewed in the field.
The study was qualitative rather than quantitative, emphasizing analysis of a few cases in their
context. Research methods consisted of observations, interviews, consultations and focus
group discussions with informants on their own ground (village, workplace, NGO site).
The case histories of 40 sexually abused girls (including 3 abused within marriage) and 29
boys were documented. Two thirds of the cases (22 girls and 23 boys) were documented in
Dhaka and in district and sub-district towns, whereas one third (5 boys and 18 girls) were
documented in rural areas. In addition, the case histories of 59 girls and 1 boy engaged in
prostitution were documented in urban areas. Among the latter group, the boy and 42 per cent
of the girls (25) went into prostitution after having been sexually abused.
Table 1. Number of sexual abuse and prostitution case histories documented
Children and adolescents were invited to tell their stories in their own words. Sexual abuse and
prostitution are delicate matters, and no one was pressured. Those consenting to speak were
listened to. Parents, neighbours, school friends, teachers and local government
representatives were consulted. Government registrars (kazis) who registered the marriage of
girls under 15 were interviewed. Conversations were held with a few perpetrators of child
sexual abuse.
Sex workers were interviewed at railway stations, launch terminals and parks. Some were
identified through the Sex Worker Network;
4
others were met in NGO drop-in centres or shelter
homes. A few girls clearly younger than 18 were spotted in brothels and briefly interviewed. A
few female brothel owners, pimps, employers, hawkers and go-betweens were also
interviewed. The field work permitted an assessment of how governmental and NGO
programmes reached out to specific populations of children. In addition the researchers visited
a number of drop-in centres, shelter homes and other projects aimed mostly at children living
on the street or in brothels.
8
Girls Boys Total
Sexually abused 40 28 68
Engaged in prostitution
3
59 1 60
Total 99 29 128
Number who entered prositition after sexual abuse 25 1 26
3
Adolescents who were sexually exploited and then took up sex work. According to the CRC, engaging in prostitution before age
18 is considered sexual exploitation.
4
A network of associations of brothel-based and street-based sex workers. The purpose is to uphold sex worker rights and
promote safer sex practices.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 1 31/03/2011 2 3 30
PART TWO: FIELD RESEARCH
CHAPTER 2. SEXUAL ABUSE OF GIRLS
We have provided counseling for victims of sexual abuse for several years now
and we realize that it occurs in all classes of society. Donors want us to reach
vulnerable groups but we believe all classes should be reached.
- Roxana Sultana, Programme Coordinator, Breaking the Silence
The NPA defines child sexual abuse as "non commercial contacts or interactions between a
child and an older or more knowledgeable child or adult (stranger, sibling, or person in
authority, such as a parent or caretaker) when the child is being used as an object of
gratification for an older child's or adult's sexual needs. These contacts or interactions are
carried out against the child using force, trickery, bribes, threats or pressure."
Girls and boys are sexually abused in all classes of society, and the cases are not difficult to
find. This brief study covers the case histories of 29 boys and 40 girls ranging in age from 2
to 17 years old. While 18 is the official end of childhood, this age is a necessary but arbitrary
cutoff: few boys may be sexually abused past the age of 15, but girls continue to be victims of
sexual aggression beyond the age of 18. The study shows that girls are victims of rape mostly
between 13 and 18 years of age, a conclusion also reached by BNWLA (2001).
Figure 1. Age at time of abuse, by sex
9
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Below 10 years 10 to 12 13 to 15 16 to 18
Girl 4 12 18 6
Boy 4 13 11 0
Boy Girl
Age at Time of Abuse by Sex
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 18 31/03/2011 2 3 30
Most of the cases recorded in this study were cases of rape, leaving a girl noshto, or defiled.
Slugget (2003) writes that 'lesser' forms of sexual abuse are not taken seriously by courts, law
enforcement agencies, parents or caregivers in the sub-continent. The status noshto becomes
unavoidable after rape; everyone in the community 'knows', though the degree to which a girl
is 'spoiled' may vary depending on the age of the victim and her relationship with the abuser.
All the abusers of girls were male, ranging in age from 15 to 68 years old, and 76 per cent
were under 30 (see Appendix 3 for more detail on perpetrators).
2.1 Meanings, Consequences and Management
Meanings more or less prevalent in Bangladesh society are highlighted here. Sexual abuse
results in a permanent alteration of girls' status as defilement leaves a mark supposedly
indelible. A fundamental reality is that the vulnerability of girls stems from the cultural
investment in their purity. Parents are necessarily concerned with the purity of daughters
because it is the basis of family honour. Protecting daughters and safeguarding their reputation
is a major responsibility of guardians before marriage. Precautions are taken from an early age
(coverage of the body, chaperonage, separation of the sexes). Girls are more mobile and
visible today than in the past. Nonetheless, 'eve-teasing' (verbal harassment or groping on the
street), sexual molestation and rape are regular reminder that girls are still 'made' vulnerable.
Concern over purity and honour is directly linked with girls' early marriage, interruption of
studies and limited participation in public life.
Girls past puberty do not readily report sexual aggression, as they typically are blamed and are
only too aware of the consequences. Chowdhury has noted that girls are abused twice: once
by the physical rape and once more by the public handling of the offense and "the customs,
practices, censures and ostricization".
5
Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse by non-
family members when they have no male guardian, when they are poor, when a scandal has
tarnished the family reputation or when the family are outsiders or belong to a minority group.
These criteria express political weakness, and as Chowdhury rightly pointed out, "child sexual
abuse [is] clearly rooted in the overall social dynamics and is not simply a sexual behaviour
related issue".
6
2.2 Failure to Apply the Law
Case histories show that there are three categories of response to sexual abuse of girls:
1) Those who do not seek justice through any means. In this group are middle class
families who keep silent to limit the scandal and poor families who do not trust the
justice system to help them. This category - people who do not file a court case or
demand arbitration at community level (shalish) - constitutes by far the majority.
2) Families who want justice but are ill informed or misinformed on the procedures to
follow.
3) Families willing to pursue the abuser in justice and who receive timely assistance to do
so.
10
5
Chowdhury 1997, p. 4.
6
Chowdhury, 1997, p. 3.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 19 31/03/2011 2 3 30
Among the 69 cases of sexual abuse investigated, the law 'Suppression of Violence against
Women and Children 2000 (amended 2003)' was activated twice, both times for girls.
2.2.1 Choosing discretion over justice
In small towns and villages, it is common for sons of influential families, who consider
themselves above the law and are treated as such, to abuse girls from humble backgrounds
with impunity. In this study, they constitute the largest group of abusers (22.5 per cent). Many
victims of abuse in such cases refuse to pursue justice; they know that their abusers have the
social and political power to avoid prosecution and punishment. Case history 1 concerns 13-
year-old Aroti,
7
who lives in a village of Sunamgonj and belongs to the potter caste (pal).
Case history 1. Impunity due to poverty and low caste: Aroti's story
"I am the youngest of three sisters and have no brother. With a friend, I went to sell the clay
dolls my sisters had made during the week. It was lunchtime when I passed in front of Rajiv,
Member's son (23 years old, married and father of a child).
8
He was standing at the entrance
of an empty house with another boy. He asked how much I had earned and proposed to
double the amount if my friend and I lay with them. I was shocked and frightened. We said no
but they dragged us inside the empty house while a maid of Member's household stood guard.
Having done their job, they placed two 20 taka notes over our shelwar. I was bleeding and in
pain. I returned home and told my sister what happened and she took me to see Goran Babu,
who is a homeopath doctor (and a respected Brahmin of the community). He told us not to call
a shalish or a panchayet (local arbitration body). He warned that it would lead nowhere and it
could even be harmful since all of us sisters are unmarried and our father is a poor man. He
said I should pray to God that no complication (pregnancy) occurs." The Brahmin later
commented to the researcher:
Who will arbitrate? Those who preside at the bichar (meeting for resolution of
conflict) are the maternal and paternal uncles of the rapist. They will turn the
victim into the guilty party. I told Aroti not to go for bichar. All they could get is
unnecessary publicity. The girl lost her chastity. Seeking justice would be even
more damaging.
Giving Aroti and her friend money, the rapists treated them like prostitutes, adding insult to the
aggression. This son of a Union Parishad member is known to have abused other girls in the
same village but no one has been able to nail him down. He molested (but did not rape) a 16-
year-old girl from an affluent family. The family wanted justice done, but they also gave up,
fearing that the girl's moral character would be questioned. Why was she visiting her friend at
this time, why was she wearing these attractive clothes, why did she engage in conversation
with the boy? Surely, she invited the abuse. Such comments were bound to arise. A rich man's
daughter is not immune from suspicion.
In this isolated village of Sunamgonj, NGOs engage in micro-credit projects; addressing sexual
abuse is not on their agenda. The schoolteachers knew about the rapes but were not
11
7
Aroti is a fictional name, as all other names of children quoted in this report.
8
Son of an elected member of the Union Parishad, the lowest tier of local government. The title and the prestige it confers often
remain even after an election is lost.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 20 31/03/2011 2 3 31
implicated as the aggression occurred outside school premises. The victims and their families
were very much alone. Such events do not make regional news either. However, they are well
remembered in the community and always weaken the victim's side. Another case recorded in
a village of Jamalpur district shows a Muslim community sharing similar notion of honour and
management of rape.
Case history 2. Inheriting the mother's reputation
Her clothes were wet and I could not resist it. I would not have raped Member's
daughter because they are of our rank, but this girl cannot do anything against
us. She is poor and her mother was dishonoured.
This is how the rapist, Shahadat, 28 years old and son of a Union Parishad member, explained
his gesture in a private meeting a few days after the rape. He disclosed his problem with
involuntary ejaculation (shopno dosh). He said he had consulted a traditional healer who
advised marriage at the earliest but his parents had taken no initiative. The rapist's peers
confided that Shahadat visited Jamalpur brothel once or twice a month for release and to
maintain his good health. (Treating this problem by visiting prostitutes is discussed later in the
text.) His choice of victim was not innocent; Shahadat knew the weakness of Ruby's family
and felt safe. He would not be incriminated because his family was powerful and hers was not.
Ruby informed her mother that she had been raped when she realized she was pregnant two
months later. The mother began by hitting and blaming her for not telling earlier. Then, she
offered support. Mother and daughter sought help from Ruby's maternal uncle. People
gathered and no one took their side. They were thrown out with insults. The situation
rescucitated local memories of the famous shalish that had forced Ruby's mother out of the
village after she had conceived a child out of wedlock. Ruby was not aware of this event.
When mother and daughter knocked at the door of the rapist's father for help, they were told:
"Bad never becomes good. It remains bad. Bad can only give birth to bad." In other words,
Ruby had inherited her mother's immoral character and was similarly noshto. Ruby finally
understood why her family was so despised and had no social power. The rapist's father said:
You are poor people. I will give you 500 taka. Get her an abortion, then get her
married and leave the village. Nobody will believe your story, so don't spread it.
People will spit at you, not at us.
The cumulative enactment of class and gender, of being poor and female, could not be better
expressed. No shalish was called. It would have been useless considering the mother's
reputation and the social gap between the abused and the abuser. Ruby commented:
Mother lost the ability to reprimand me. She has lowered her tone. I was quite
shocked to hear what happened to her when she was my age. I understood why
she was so weak and could not take my side.
With her mother's help, Ruby got an abortion, then moved to Dhaka and found a job in a
garment factory. She had been a student in Class IX, and studying held the promise of social
promotion. But the rape, the pregnancy and the abortion marked an end to such ambitions.
Mother and daughter reflected on the fact that education did not prevent girls from getting
12
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 21 31/03/2011 2 3 31
raped (they had been led to believe otherwise). But whereas the mother was thrown out of the
village and did not return for several years, the daughter refuses to see herself as an outcast
and returns in defiance. With her nine years of schooling, she found a factory job that ensures
a reasonable salary. What has not changed is the way village society considers noshto meye
(spoiled as a result of rape, prostitution or illegitimate sex). Ruby has been placed in the same
category as her mother. It did not matter that she was raped and her poor mother consented to
an illegitimate relationship; the result is the same. In a way, village society has already
engaged Ruby on the 'slippery slope' by assuming that a girl without a guardian cannot stay
'good' in Dhaka, whatever she does. But Ruby does not want to be seen as a victim.
In Dhaka, I live with other girls who are also garment workers. We have a TV,
we go to the market and we lead a free life. I do not visit the village much.
When I come, I want to show that I am doing well. I think there is more security
in the city than in the village. In the village, girls get raped. In the city, boys
develop relationships and if you agree, it is sweet.
Migration to the city offers girls an escape from the debilitating labeling of village society and
an alternative lifestyle that may be experienced as liberating. Sexual abuse in the factory
environment certainly occurs (and is discussed later), but the management is different.
Case history 3. Raping a girl to take revenge on her father
In a small town of Jamalpur district, a 19-year-old boy was expelled from a higher secondary
school exam by the teacher after he was caught cheating. Two months later, the boy raped the
teacher's 16-year-old daughter in revenge. He then called the teacher on the girl's mobile
phone and said, "I just raped your daughter. Come and get her. I want to see your face. You
have destroyed my life. I wanted to destroy yours."
The teacher and his family did not call for a shalish and never filed a case with the police. The
abused girl explained:
If we filed a court case, we may win but everyone will know. The family honour
that we lost will not be repaired. People will gossip and it will be worst. In my
family, we are sad, depressed and frightened. All of us feel it. We dismissed our
maid because she heard too much. We grew silent. Father stopped going to the
market fearing that anyone would ask questions.
The teacher and his family have been broken by this event. They come from a neighbouring
district and have only daughters, criteria that are seen as a mark of weakness. A high school
teacher's salary is not high but the position is prestigious, and the father's withdrawal is a
measure of the humiliation suffered. The girl's mother, an NGO teacher, commented:
My husband and I held good jobs. I thought that the place we live in, the family
we belong to, the prestige of our jobs would protect us. I never imagined such a
thing could happen to us. If we had been day labourers, poor and low class,
then we could easily have gone to get help. But in our circle we cannot bring
this up. We have laws, we could call a shalish but we cannot get out of our
barriers.
13
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 22 31/03/2011 2 3 31
The barriers to justice in this case are not low social status or poverty but investment in honour
and dignity. The result is the same: no legal action taken. The father, badly affected by this
revenge attack, is taking the longest to recover. He regrets expelling the cheater from the
examination hall; the price he had to pay was too high.
Rape and the impunity of rapists have grave consequences that should not be underestimated.
It poisons the entire social fabric. In this case, a teacher posted to ensure that students do not
cheat at exams has been discredited. His 16-year-old daughter was raped because the
teacher did his job.
A few years earlier, in the same town, a popular young female doctor posted at the local
hospital was gang-raped by the sons of influential families while accompanied by her husband,
also a doctor. The couple left the community in shame. Their employer, the Ministry of Health,
did not initiate judicial processes although the woman was raped while discharging her
professional duty. People who recalled the event pointed out that lack of punishment
emboldens youths from influential families.
Case history 4. Sexual harassment on the road
What is commonly called 'eve teasing' in Bangladesh can be a clumsy way for boys to
approach girls in a society where the sexes are kept apart and boys may be poorly socialized
in meeting girls in a friendly way. But this sexual harassment can also be a prelude to violent
aggression.
Anjumana, a 17-year-old college student, had been disturbed by the lewd remarks of a boy
whom she regularly passed on the street. To protect herself, she began wearing a burqa and
always traveled in a rickshaw with the hood up. One day, she was traveling with her mother
when their rickshaw was stopped. She was pulled out by several boys, dragged to an empty
house and gang raped while her mother was made to wait. The boys escaped and the mother
recovered her daughter and immediately brought her to the health centre, not mentioning that
she had been raped. For her, there was no question of demanding a medical certificate for
future prosecution. The girl's father, who worked in Dhaka, advised the mother not to mention
the incident to anyone and send the girl to him immediately. The mother commented:
My daughter wore a burqa. She traveled in a covered rickshaw and I was with
her on the day she was gang raped. None of these precautions could protect
her. I don't want any bichar (resolution). I have no son and I have two daughters
to marry. Anyway, what kind of bichar would I get? They may say that the rapist
should marry my daughter. I would never accept this. I prefer to forget the
event. Her father wanted to arrange her marriage but she should not be married
now. It is too fresh. The husband could find out. I used to dream of my daughter
becoming a doctor or an engineer. Now I think only one thing: How can I marry
her?
Once again, the family response was discretion and relocation of the victim. Having tamed
rumors and avoided scandal, marriage remains the main concern of parents. Anjumana's
mother expressed her concern that an eventual husband may find out about the rape.
Providing her daughter with time for the psychological wound to heal, before marriage, is not
14
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 23 31/03/2011 2 3 31
her primary thought. Family support is crucial to help the victim restore her confidence and
strength. Unfortunately, out of fear that someone may tell or that some other damaging signs
may appear, parents often rush the marriage of a raped daughter and ask few questions about
the groom, knowing that their daughter is 'spoiled' and has lost value.
Case history 5. Imam's daughter raped by her brother-in-law
Farida, 17 years old, was the first member of her family to study up to college level. On a rainy
day she had an exam, and her brother-in-law, who was visting, offered to take her on his
motorbike.
We stopped on the way and took shelter in a hut in the middle of a rice field. He
said we should wait till the rain stops. No one was around and it was raining
heavily. I began to wonder what he had in mind. With his handkerchief, he
wiped the rain on my face. I felt embarrassed. Then, he grabbed my breasts
and kissed me. Then he raped me. When it was over, he said: "Was it good?
Did you like it?" He took me to the exam hall. I was stiff. I could not write a
word.
Back home, I tried to avoid everybody. What could I tell them? He left a mark on
my face, which I covered with my dupatta. My sister came and asked me what
the matter was. I could not say a word. I just grabbed her and cried. In the end,
I wrote a letter and explained what happened.
That letter hit my sister. She confronted her husband who was still in the house.
He replied: "These things happen. There is nothing there. Why do you make
such a fuss?" Two days later, my sister committed suicide. She left a note
saying that no one should be blamed for her death. She added that her two
children should never be left in the care of that horrible man.
Farida stopped going to college and regretted pursuing her studies. She said that if she had
not gone out for the exam, the events that transformed her life would not have occurred. She
kept repeating, "Because of me, two children have been made orphans."
The brother in-law, a police constable, ensured that no questions would be asked about his
wife's unnatural death. The family had hoped that he would marry Farida in replacement of her
sister but within two months the man had married someone else. Farida did not express an
opinion on an eventual marriage with her rapist.
Farida's mother blames Farida for what happened. Why did she go with her brother-in-law,
why did she stop on the way, why did she not scream to attract attention? But Farida maintains
that she could not have done anything in this isolated place. Besides, how could she call
attention to something so bad - the loss of her honour and the destruction of her sister's
family? She wonders if perhaps she should not have written the letter that led her sister to
commit suicide. Farida's father is an imam. For him, rape and suicide are sins, and both have
been committed in his family. He has been defeated by these events, and there was no
question of seeking help outside. Farida said:
15
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 24 31/03/2011 2 3 31
Father is a man of religion. Here, no radio, no cassette, no TV. This drama
isolated my family even more than before.
The six-member family has two more children to feed and the imam' salary does not suffice.
This exacerbates Farida's sense of guilt. Farida's former school friends describe her as a lamp
that has been extinguished. Their attempts to pull her out of depression have failed.
The brother-in-law did not see himself as an abuser. "Did you enjoy it? ", he said to Farida
after abusing her. When his wife questioned him about raping her sister, his response was
calm and aloof: "These things happen. Why make a fuss?" Traditionally, the relationship
between a man and his wife's younger sister allows for joking and savoury talk. Expressions
such as amar choto ginni (my little wife) and amar fau ginni (my extra wife) commonly express
the playful relationship. After his wife's death, a man may marry his wife's younger sister.
However, a man should know the limits, and sexual intimacy between a man and his wife's
younger sister is condemned as long as the couple is married. However, such occurrences are
not seen as repulsive. Other cases of dhulabhai who raped their shali were identified in this
research. Such family matters are normally handled with discretion, so as not to threaten the
elder sister's marriage.
Case history 6. Sexual abuse within the family
When a child is known to have been sexually abused by a family member, generally the family
closes ranks to save its reputation in the eyes of the community. Meena, 12 years old, lives in
an extended family that includes two married uncles and their families. She was raped by her
aunt's father, age 60, a man she called nana (maternal grandfather). Several children were
watching TV on a cold winter night. They had fallen asleep when the nana raped Meena under
the quilt. Meena ran to her mother who was cooking some distance away while the nana made
a rapid exit. Meena's mother and grandmother consoled Meena. They were outraged that a
60-year-old nana could act this way. But despite considering the girl totally innocent, they could
not do much. Meena's mother has little power in the extended family.
My husband does not want me to say anything about this event. He does not
earn as much as his brother. We are not well off. My father is also poor. This
nana is rich and is of the matbori (bossy, dominant) type. My sister-in-law (the
rapist's daughter) could say that we have invented the story because we are
jealous and want to spoil their good fortune.
Meena was not allowed to return to school. Her mother, who is a member of an NGO, was
requested by the men of the family to stop her NGO activities as it was feared that she could
be encouraged to do something that would hurt family reputation. Six months later, when
Meena was barely 13 years old, her marriage was arranged. The case was identified through
an NGO worker who expressed her immense frustration about her attempts to empower
women, encourage them to fight abuse and seek justice. Meena's mother asked her not to
come to her home any more because her presence complicated matters for her.
Marrying Meena has not solved the problem. Fear remains that the husband will find out about
the rape and repudiate the girl. Also, Meena refuses to go to her in-laws and her husband.
Such a girl is not on the 'slippery slope' and is unlikely to be found among the children living on
16
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the street or in brothels, cared for by NGOs. But how will she cope with this trauma that must
be hidden, the end of her schooling and the difficulty of being a wife at the age of 13?
2.2.2 Justice sought but not served
The next section deals with cases in which the victim and her family wanted and sought justice
and therefore took the risk of public exposure. However, justice was denied.
Case history 7. Abuse of an adolescent peer educator
Sofia, 16, attended an NGO school and received training in a programme aiming to empower
teenagers, especially girls. She was recognized as a peer educator. The day the investigation
team paid a visit to the NGO sub-district office, Sofia was raped, about one mile away.
Provisions to assist victims of rape were discussed with the Human Rights and Legal Aid
officer as part of this evaluation and were found to be inadequate. The events that unfolded a
few hours later amply confirmed this assessment.
Sofia was on her way to cut sugar cane when she was overpowered by two young men from a
neighbouring village, pulled inside an empty house and raped, despite her resistance. The
incident was reported in the village by a 9-year-old boy who witnessed Sofia being
overpowered. Sofia did not reveal the rape to her family, but her mother, upon hearing the
rumour, confronted her, and Sofia admitted it.
A shalish was called in an open field by the road, and both the abused and the abusers were
summoned by the town Councillor. The abusers did not appear, though one of their fathers
came. There was no privacy; over 200 people gathered. When Sofia's father was asked what
the family wanted, he demanded that the boy who had spoiled his daughter marry her. The
father of the accused reacted very aggressively, claiming that, due to differences in social rank,
the idea itself was an abuse. Insults of the worst kind were unleashed on Sofia and her family.
This kind of reaction explains why many victims of sexual abuse simply avoid demanding a
shalish. The father of one of the rapists said:
"A girl who is already spoiled (noshto) can be used. That is no big matter. But she cannot be
brought as a son's wife."
Others commented:
O "If you were abused by two boys, why choose this one?"
O "Poor people can do all kinds of things for money. She did it on purpose."
O "If she was a good girl, she would not speak about such matter in front of so many
people. She would keep it to herself."
O "Two of her aunts walked out of their homes and abandoned their husbands. They are
all whores and there should be no bichar for this family."
O "Chanda (money raised for a charitable cause) should be raised from the public to help
the girl move to Dhaka and find work in a garment factory."
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The shalish was adjourned at Sofia's mother request. She felt it was unacceptable for the
victim to be treated in this way while the rapists were absent. The next day, when Sofia and
her mother went to the NGO (to which they belong) requesting assistance, they were received
coldly. They were told that it was too late to demand a medical certificate and, without one, the
case would be weak. The mother was furious and threatened to withdraw her membership in
the NGO. To pacify her, three staff attended the next shalish, but only as spectators; they did
not intervene.
Three sittings were held but justice was not served. A monetary compensation of 20,000 taka
(around $290) was suggested by the Councillor, but it was not given. The family was publicly
humiliated and belittled. Sofia's father blamed Sofia for the damage done to the family and put
pressure on her to leave. Three days after being raped, Sofia left the village and was reported
to be in Dhaka. Criticism of her 'bad character' persisted in the village.
NGO staff confirmed that they could not do anything for Sofia. "These cases come too late to
us and there is little we can do," said the young man in charge. According to a specialist, it is
technically possible to file a case at the police station within 26 hours of a rape (the time that
had elapsed when Sofia requested help). Before this incident occurred, it had been clear to the
researcher that the legal services of the NGO in this location were not adequately prepared to
assist a rape victim. They were fearful of antagonizing local government representatives whose
collaboration they needed for their projects. The staff, all of whom were male outsiders, said
they did not stay long enough to get to know local officials and develop a close working
relationship with them.
As a peer educator with the the NGO project, Sofia should have been informed about what to
do in case of rape. One of the booklets used for training explains clearly that a formal
complaint should be filed with the police and a medical certificate obtained from a doctor. Sofia
said she had a vague idea of what should be done but she could not do it alone. She and her
mother expected assistance from the NGO.
The project's peer educators are usually selected from among the NGO group members'
children. These are usually poor families without much power or social position in the
community. The NGO staff said that they could not help Sofia as no one sided with the family
at the shalish. Their lack of social power was only too evident. This is the problem when the
shalish reflects the social hierarchy and defends or mildly chastizes the aggressor while
exposing the victim to further abuse.
In a focus group discussion with the researcher, peer educators of the Kishori Abhijan Projects
complained that their ability to change society was limited and expectations were too high
because they did not have power. They said that people did not take them seriously because
of their youth. They also said they had insufficient support in the tasks assigned to them.
Sofia and her mother believed they could expect support and justice but were let down, paying
a heavy price. Such handling of a rape case sends the message that rapists can get away with
their crimes by denigrating their victims, arguing that they were already noshto and raping
them was no offense. The local government representative tried to temper the insults thrown at
Sofia and her family, including through his suggestion that a small amount of money be given.
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The denigration of Sofia continues, and people say that she is now engaging in sex work in
Dhaka. If true, this is an example of the 'slippery slope' from sexual abuse to prostitution. The
handling of this case was an immense failure, raising questions about projects aiming to
empower adolescent girls and the commitment of NGOs to effectively support girl victims of
sexual abuse after teaching them to expect and to demand protection and justice.
Case history 8. "This is a village matter, it should be settled by village people"
In a village of Sunamgonj district, Aklima, 12 years old, was washing the dishes after feeding
her little brother and sister and putting them to bed. Her parents were away working on their
land. A rich man's son and his friend came by and asked Aklima for a glass of water. When
she went inside to get a jug and a glass, they followed her. Hearing that her parents were
away, they signaled each other. The two youths took turn raping her.
She was found by her little sister in a pool of blood. The parents brought her to the health
centre as soon as they returned. Seeing Aklima's bad condition, the hospital staff strongly
advised the family to file a case with the police. The young doctor on duty said he had seen
too many girls brought to him after a rape and he sincerely wanted justice to be done. On the
other hand, the family was pressed not to file a case by the father of one of the rapists, who is
a strong man in the community (matbor). Later the mother commented:
Everybody knows that Khokon is the culprit but no one says anything. No one
judged him. If Member and Chairman keep their mouth shut, what can poor
villagers do? We were wrong. We should have filed a case with the police when
Aklima was in hospital. This is what the hospital staff advised us to do but the
village leaders said this is a village matter; it should be settled by village people.
They promised 20,000 taka but we never received that money. Khokon's father
spent that much but it went to Chairman and Member.
When time comes to marry Aklima, people will remember that she has been
spoiled. It will not be easy to arrange her marriage. We were not compensated
properly for the offense.
It was clear that Aklima had been badly injured and the culprits were known. The medical
officer on duty was willing to issue a medical certificate and testify in court if necessary. The
family was strongly encouraged to file a case with the police but the powerful families
convinced them not to. They also paid the local government representatives not to have a
shalish. The promised compensation was not given to the victim but rather to the local
government representative. All went very fast. Once Aklima was discharged from hospital, it
was too late to file a case.
A government order instructs doctors at thana hospitals to issue a medical certificate in cases
of rape. Issued in 2002, the Order has been largely ignored. But should it have been issued,
Aklima's family would have been in a stronger position to get justice.
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2.2.3 Successful recourse to the judiciary
Of the 69 cases of sexual abuse documented in this research, only 2 resulted in prosecution.
Both victims were very young girls, one 4 and the other 8 years old. Seriously injured, they
attracted attention and sympathy. In both cases, the families received adequate information
and assistance.
Case history 9: A family assisted by the Mohila Parishad
The younger girl, Shuma, was raped by her 18-year-old uncle, Russel, in 2007 in a village of
Sunamgonj district. He raped Shuma in her home as her parents were working outside. Shuma
had no reason to suspect her uncle of bad intentions; the two families shared a courtyard and
belonged to the same lineage. The rape was reported by the local secretary of Mahila
Parishad (a national women's organization), who made this statement:
We heard that Shuma's mother was waiting at the police station with her injured
daughter. She had been there for six hours and the police refused to take her
case, giving all kinds of excuses and behaving rudely. The father called us for
help.
We first made sure that the police officer filed a case of rape. Then we took the
girl to hospital for treatment and demanded a medical certificate. A group of us
went to protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of
Police and we handed over a letter demanding the immediate arrest of the
culprit. The DeputyCommissioner put pressure on the officer in charge, and the
culprit was arrested the same day. Journalists were called and the story was
well circulated in the local press. The accused spent 1 years in jail, after which
he obtained bail, and then the case lost strength.
This is an exemplary handling of a case. Mahila Parishad was obviously prepared and
committed to do everything in their power to ensure that the rapist would be arrested and tried.
The women used their knowledge of the law and their social network to activate the law and
publicize the crime in the press.
Yet still the culprit was not condemned. The girl's mother pointed out that the delay in
concluding the trial allowed sentiments to turn, as the rapist's mother pleaded for her son with
her tears. Shuma's family was also caught with the difficulty of accusing a close relative.
If the case had been disposed of rapidly, Russel's mother could not have got
sympathy in this way. If Russel had not been a relative, it would have been
easier to pursue the case.
The village has been divided from the start as to whether a court case should be filed. One
man said that Russel did not understand what he was doing. "It is for us to teach him," said
another. Others commented that Russel should have been punished according to the law. "By
doing what he has done, he damaged the reputation of all young men in this community," one
said.
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Shuma's father felt torn between his desire for justice and the need to reconcile with the
community:
Russel committed the offence and we wanted punishment, but now people here
are saying that he is a son of the community, that the law is too harsh and that if
prosecution is pursued, Russel will be hung. They believe that Shuma is little
and will forget. Maybe they are right. What can we do? Russel is our relative.
We must continue to live in this community.
Here, kinship ties and the politics of compromise for 'a son of the village' favoured the rapist.
Also, a mother's tears restored humanity to a youth who had been considered 'a beast' and
'not human' for raping a 4 year old girl. One notes that the abuser was barely an adult when
he committed this gruesome aggression. Should it be called pedophilia? What made the boy
go 'mad'? There is no psychologist in the area, and recourse to such professionals is not the
custom. The explanation that prevailed was a religious one. After his release, Russel was
taken to the mosque and publicly made to perform a reparatory ritual to obtain pardon for his
sins. He then left the village.
Although the abuser was not convicted, the time spent in jail and the publicity the crime
received in the local media constitute some punishment, which, in a context of general
impunity, made an impression. Nonetheless, activists who had invested a great deal of effort to
get the culprit convicted, and Shuma's parents, were disappointed with this outcome.
In Barisal District, of 181 cases filed under the Suppression of Violence against Women and
Children 2000 Act (amended 2003), 59 were dropped without prosecution and only 2 led to
conviction. The officer in charge of the BRAC legal aid services said that because Barisal has
a well-functioning One Stop Crisis Centre, it gets cases with good evidence but still faces
problems: Witnesses do not turn up at court on hearing days; the victim's family is intimidated
by the accused and/or a settlement is reached out of court; sons of wealthy families who rape
girls tend to be locals with permanent addresses, whereas victims are often outsiders living in
temporary accommodations, who often move away and cannot be traced.
Filing a case under the Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act 2000 does
not exclude an eventual settlement out of court, but lawyers know that filing and pursuing a
court case always reinforces the victim, who may then negotiate a substantial payment. It is
important to read financial compensation as justice for a crime and not mere charity to the
poor. We have seen that when cases are debated at shalish, they tend to reproduce class
hierarchies. It is considered that the poor are not worth much and the compensation proposed
for the harm done (and not always given) constitutes denigration. This is why the poor have
much to gain from recourse to the law - yet they do so rarely as they do not trust the system.
Case history 10. Incest, court case and dissolution of the family
9
Three or four times a year, Farida, 8 years old, visited her parents, who worked in Dhaka. On
the day of the aggression, she was with her parents. Her mother went to her factory job in the
morning, and her father also left for work but returned early. He started drinking and watching
21
9
This case study has been pieced together with information from several sources. It was reported by relatives of the victim, who
live in a Dhaka slum. Farida and her grandmother were later interviewed in their village in Patuakhali. It was also discussed
with the counsellor on duty at the One Stop Crisis Centre the day Farida was referred.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 30 31/03/2011 2 3 31
blue films. Farida was playing in the same room. She later said her father offered her a glass
of something that she did not like (presumably alcohol) and spat out.
A woman who was home nearby heard Farida crying and moaning. She found the girl lying on
a bed soaked with blood. The father had disappeared. She immediately took Farida to the
health centre and called her mother. Farida was given first aid and referred to Dhaka Medical
College, where she was admitted at the One Stop Crisis Centre. Thirteen stitches were needed
to repair the girl's injury, underscoring the violence of the aggression.
Farida would not name the perpetrator until a psychologist gently questioned her. She then
revealed that her father had been drinking and watching films of naked people before he got
on her. Infuriated, the mother filed a case against her husband. As a working woman, she
could afford to take such a decision. Nonetheless, she was criticized by her mother-in-law, who
felt that the court case put the family in a bad light and would create problems when the time
came to marry Farida. Neighbours also believed that a girl known to have been sexually
abused by her father carries a particularly strong stigma. According to Breaking the Silence,
such cases are rare, or rarely come to light in Bangladesh.
This case shows the efficient handling of a rape victim at the One Stop Crisis Centre. Farida
received timely medical care and psychological counselling. Her mother was assisted to file a
case with the police, even though the aggressor was her husband. Some criticize the One
Stop Crisis Centres for pressing victims to file cases against their aggressors, and for not
providing psychological and other support unless they do. But these issues did not come up in
Farida's case, as the mother did not hesitate to file a case and appreciated the assistance
received. In other circumstances, the withdrawal of psychological counselling and other
services to those who, for a number of reasons, cannot or dare not pursue the aggressor is
questionable. Bangladesh has only six such centres, one in each division. Most rape victims
do not have access to them.
According to Breaking the SIlence, cases of incest seldom lead to the break-up of the family,
and the mother must find ways to protect daughters (and sometimes sons) from the abuser. As
Slugget (2003) points out, the reluctance to confront the abuser and the non-involvement of
men of the family precludes a change in attitudes while also putting tremendous pressure on
mothers.
2.3 Mandated Care for Rape Victims
In some cases badly injured girls brought to health centres have failed to receive appropriate
care. This may be due to the family desire to hide the rape, reluctance of doctors to carry out
the examination and issue a medical certificate, unwillingness of police officials to accept a
case, or intimidation, bribes or threats by the rapist and his family. Yet attempts have been
made to overcome these challenges.
On 16 September 2002 the Ministry of Health and Family Planning issued an order instructing
doctors in both government and non-government institutions at sub-district (upazila) levels to
immediately perform a test and issue a medical report for women and child victims of rape,
acid attack or other violence. The victims need not be referred by the police. Previously
medical tests were only available at district headquarters. Copies of the medical report must be
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given to the victim, the officer in charge at the police station and the Deputy Commissioner.
With this documented evidence, the victim can file a case with the police for prosecution. If the
doctor who treated Aklima (case study 8) had followed the procedures, her parents could have
filed a case even after several days.
Nari Pokkho, a feminist group, lobbied the government to issue this government order and has
monitored its implementation. In November 2008, upon a finding that the order was being
largely ignored, the group demanded that the Inspector General of Police send a reminder to
all police stations. Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service recently organized a seminar on the issue
for the general pubic.
10
Women's groups in particular have been active in ensuring that violence against children and
women is met with (1) adequate medical care for the victim, (2) punitive measures for the
perpetrator and (3) respect the privacy of the victim. In addition to the One Stop Crisis Centre,
a Victim Support Centre has been set up as a pilot project funded by UNDP, entirely staffed
with police women and working in collaboration with eight NGOs to assist women and children
victims of violence. Mechanisms to help such victims exist, but they are very limited in scope
and leave most parts of the country uncovered. More services integrated with government
structures at upazila (sub-district) level are needed, as well as better collaboration between
health officials and the police so that complaints are handled efficiently and respectfully of the
victim.
Better services may not immediately change the attitudes of families, whose fear of dishonour
motivates them to cover up abuse. But it would encourage more families to seek justice, which
eventually could lead to changed attitudes.
2.4 Summary
The case histories presented in this chapter have shown that the social consequences of
dishonour are often more damaging to a girl than the rape itself. Rape may lead to the
interruption of studies; a rushed marriage of a child, sometimes to a perpetrator; and a
disruptive move to avoid scandal. When sexual abuse is perpetrated within the family, it is
generally covered up and appearances of normalcy preserved. No class is immune from rape.
Rapists usually enjoy impunity, for varied and complex reasons. When the perpetrator is a
family member, the family generally closes upon itself, not calling for help to justice to preserve
discretion and avoid revealing the abuse to outsiders. When the rapist is not a family member,
he may be protected by his power and social ascendency over the victim. Rape can often be
read as a class statement. The dishonour that stigmatizes the victim and her family allows the
rapist to escape prosecution. Applying the law requires committed lawyers who can invest time
and resources, but even in such cases there is no certainty that the case will end in
prosecution.
There is much frustration among lawyers who are uncertain that the cases they take up will
end in prosecuation, but without these actors, the law would remain toothless. Public outcry
about a particularly loathsome crime occasionally activates justice. One example of this took
place in 1995, when the rape and the murder of a 14-year-old garment worker called Yasmin
23
10
Making justice to rape victims', The Daily Star, 16 November 2009.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 32 31/03/2011 2 3 31
raised a nationwide protest. The girl was returning to her mother in Rangpur but got off at the
wrong bus stop, and two police officers who offered to take her home instead raped and killed
her. Media exposure of the crime fed public anger and public anger fed the media. It became
impossible for the officer in charge of the police station to mask the crime and protect his men.
They were sentenced to death and executed in 2004 after rejection of their appeal. The
country learned that even police officers were not above the law. This affair had a tremendous
effect on the police as a whole. Though no study documents a reduction of police abuse,
several police officers stated that they exert greater caution in carrying out their mandate
following this event. Conviction is a strong deterrent.
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CHAPTER 3. SEXUAL ABUSE OF BOYS
Sexual abuse of boys was investigated among boys working as helpers in factories, small
workshops and markets, and among boys dwelling on the street, at railway stations and at
river ports. Occurrences were also found in middle and lower middle class families and among
slum dwellers. In the short time available, 29 cases were documented; males were the abusers
in 27 of them. Unsurprisingly, most sexual abuse of boys occurs in same-sex encounters. The
two boys who were abused by adult women were 15 years old.
Some cases raised question as to whether 'sexual abuse' took place or not. For example, four
boys aged 11 to 13 were heard joking about their sexual games (khela kheli). The youngest
did not laugh and said he did not like what the others made him do. When boys roughly the
same age engage in sexual games among themselves, is it abuse? The information on this
case was insufficient to include in the sample, but the question must be asked whether the
youngest boy was abused. This raises questions regarding sexual agency and awareness, and
whether the demarcation of childhood as ending at age 18 is legitimate in cases of abuse. In
any case, it is clear that, psychologically, socially and culturally, childhood is a variable
construct, notwithstanding the adoption of universal legal standards.
11
The feeling of having been sexually abused may develop in retrospect. An adult man in his late
20s remembered the sexual games he engaged in with a 17-year-old girl when he was 14
years old. They met on the roof of their building during power cuts and explored each other's
bodies, the girl taking the lead and the boy willingly participating. Many years later, as a
married man, he began feeling guilty about what he had done and described the girl who
initiated him as 'bad'. At the time, he had not identified his feelings as 'sexual'; guilt came with
this understanding. Sexual abuse should not be confused with sex out of wedlock, just as
wedlock offers no guarantee that sexual abuse does not occur. Notions of sin belong to a
different register and may not coincide with human rights principles. In any case, it is clear that
there are 'grey zones' making it difficult to determine whether or not sexual abuse has taken
place.
3.1 Vocabulary of Sexual Abuse against Boys
Whereas heterosexual sexual relations out of wedlock are obsessively scrutinized and readily
judged 'bad', same-sex sexual commerce is often not seen. This blindness makes it difficult to
recognize that boys are also victims of sexual abuse. Boys use crude language to describe the
activity. Many speak of pain, hurt, disgust and repugnance, but they are at a loss to find words
to name the sexual abuse and express the wrong committed, which makes them hesitant to
protest or seek help. This contrasts sharply with the experience of girls, who know at an early
age that sexual abuse means to be made noshto. Negative as the phrase is, to be a noshto
meye carries meaning, and this helps to clarify that what took place was indeed abuse.
Boy victims of sexual abuse also often fail to recognize their pain. The abusive act is
considered socially irrelevant, and this could explain why it is not debated at shalish. Those
25
11
See Blanchet (1996), which amply discusses and illustrates this thesis in relation to Bangladeshi society.
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 34 31/03/2011 2 3 31
who speak up are easily mocked for not being what a boy should be: tough, impenetrable and
un-rape-able. The common Bangla words to name rape - noshto, izzot mara, shottito noshto
howa, jat noshto - all refer to girls' loss of honour. Boys do not lose their honour (izzot) by
being abused sexually. The cultural specificity of these terms is lost in translation. Yet it is
crucial to capture the different significance and management of boys and girls' sexual abuse.
3.2 Sexual Abuse at Work
3.2.1 Abuse by employers with impunity
Case history 11. The supervisor's power over his workers. A glass factory in Narayangonj
district employs about 500 workers, roughly 10 per cent of whom are boys below the age of
14. Newcomers (shagred, which means student or disciple) are taught by masters (ustad).
These terms used in different contexts have deep roots in the sub-continent. A shagred should
respect and serve his ustad unconditionally to learn an art or a trade. In a work environment,
the terms mark a strong hierarchy allowing ustads to exploit their shagreds economically and,
as it turns out, sexually as well.
Bashar, 18 years old, is ustad to three shagreds. He has a sexual relationship with one of
them, Farid, 11 years old. Where physical proximity and companionship among males is
normal, such a relationship is not exceptional. How does one become an ustad? Bashar was 9
years old when his mother sent him to work, and at 14 or 15, he stopped remitting her his
income and felt grown up.
As I got older, my space expanded. I had friends, work and money. I felt adult
and capable of doing a lot. I felt clever and brave. As there was no one to forbid
me, I did as I liked. I do not have good habits. I smoke cigarettes, ganja, go to
the cinema and eat out every day.
Bashar did not include among his bad habits his sexual relationship with Farid. When asked
what he did for recreation,
With Farid, I do 'khela kheli' (sex play). It started eight months ago but earnestly
it has been going on for four months. 'Khela kheli' is not a sin. It gives me
peace. I feel lighter afterwards.
Farid has been my shagred since the age of 9. He is innocent, peaceful and
beautiful. This is why I like him. He is easy to please. He does not seek to
exploit the situation. We joke. We play. He gets things done for me. I ask him to
massage me. We don't need a special place to meet. People don't suspect us
of wrongdoing.
I understood that I was attracted to boys like him since the age of 15.
Bashar speaks of his night ejaculation at the age of 15 as a turning point in his life, making him
fearful for his health. He then looked for a sexual partner. When asked why he did not go to a
girl, Bashar replied:
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Girls are costly. They have a lot of demands. I heard this from my friends. Some
lost their job because of a relationship with a girl. Others lost their money. I fear
girls. They bring disease. They get pregnant. There is also a question of honour.
There could be bichar and shalish. And where would I find the space to meet a
girl secretly? I would be embarrassed to propose to a girl. Girls are a lot of
trouble.
Using a young boy for sexual release is convenient in a society that separates the sexes and
does not see/condemn same-sex relations, in either a loving or abusive form. The relationship
with Farid is not only sexual; it involves an emotional attachment and companionship. The
development of sexual intimacy has been progressive, starting about a year after they began
working together.
Bashar authorized Farid to be interviewed, being confident that his shagred would describe
him as kind and caring. With the permission of his ustad Farid explained:
Father sent me to work at a tea stall when I was 9 years old. I did not like it.
There was no freedom, no pocket money for food (the father took his salary)
and the discipline was harsh. Ustad used to come to the tea stall and one day
he invited me to join the factory. My parents agreed. Ustad is good. He does not
beat me. He gives me pocket money and invites me to share good food. I go
back home at night but I return late. Sometimes, I don't go back at all. Mother
does not worry because she knows I am with ustad.
Once or twice a week, I do 'khela' with ustad. At first, it was painful and I was
afraid. I felt ashamed. Now, ustad uses oil or his saliva and it is not so painful.
Afterwards, I have a headache and I want to vomit. I don't like it when it is hot.
I did not say anything to mother. If she knew, she would not allow me to come
to ustad.
This is as much as Farid would say. He seems to like Bashar (who does not beat him) but the
sex play is painful and repulsive (he wants to vomit). The words to name sexual commerce are
innocent enough, and they do not carry the stigma of noshto. Who would object or take
offence about playful games?
Farid described sex play in a matter of fact way. He was quite explicit in his gestures and in
acting out the position he took for Bashar. Bashar told him it was all right, just a game. Farid
knows he should not tell his mother because she would not allow him staying late or over
night. He has a sense of the forbidden somewhere.
Bashar told Farid that one day he would be ustad and it would be his privilege to use little boys
sexually. There seems to be a familiar pattern of older boys exploiting younger boys, who are
likely to repeat the pattern when they grow up. Among boys working in an all-male
environment, it takes on a kind of normalcy.
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Case history 12. Asking for help when no one wants to hear
Some boys have wanted to scream their pain but no one has heard them. Lutfor is such a boy.
He was 11 years old when his elder brother brought him to Dhaka after their father had injured
his hip and could no longer work. The brother first got Lutfor a job in a restaurant for a salary
of 150 taka per month plus food.
I was in that hotel for 8 months. I lost my appetite and I slept very little. There
was too much work and it was too hot next to the fire. I could not bathe properly
and I could not sleep at night either.
One month after I came, Sharif Bhai started to bother me. I slept next to him. It
was very cold and I had no quilt, so he used me. Sometimes, I got up and spent
the night sitting and shivering to avoid him. I was very unhappy. Brother did not
allow me to leave. He used to say, "At your age, you can mix and sleep with
anyone. You are a boy. Because you are little, people will show you affection.
This is normal."
Brother would not hear although I tried to tell him. Sharif Bhai used to take my
pants off, pinch me, touch me all over and penetrate me behind. I was terrorized
but fearing my brother I stayed in that place. In the end, I got very sick. I had
scabies all over my body. I lost weight. My anus was very painful. I had problem
sitting and defecating. The hotel manager saw that I was not well. He contacted
my brother and asked him to take me home.
Mother took me to the holy man as a sick boy but no one knew why I had panic
crisis before going to sleep at night. I knew why but how could I tell? I felt such
shame and fear. I stayed home for six months. Then I came back to Dhaka and
got a job in a phone-fax shop. They did not keep me because I was not
educated enough. Brother then got me a job in a hardware shop. My salary is
now 1,500 taka. Brother leaves me 200 taka as pocket money. There is the
same problem here except that the place is better, there is respect. The senior
who does this to me does not take me by force in the middle of my sleep. Now,
I don't mind and quite like it.
Lutfor worked in three places and was sexually abused in two of them. Some boys, unable to
quit their employment, have suffered for months, if not years. Such boys are in a worse
predicament than boys living on the street, because those on the street, though they may be
caught unaware at first, soon learn to avoid danger. Being mobile, they can run, and they have
greater scope in choosing who they spend time with. But those tied to employment are
trapped.
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Sexual abuse seems to be frequent where young boys share a bed with older co-workers.
Unmarried or forced to lead a celibate life, older boys use whoever is available. Lutfor has
grown accustomed to being used sexually. His body 'understands' and he now admits even
getting some pleasure out of it. Still, he cannot wait to grow up. He said:
I may have to suffer this a little more. Then I can be in the position of Habibur (a
co-worker). Habibur is 17 years old and does not fear. He does this with nani
(literally grandmother; meaning an older prostitute). At that age, I can do like
him. I will then get my money and will spend as I like.
When working boys have control of their salary they can visit prostitutes, and many of them do
so as soon as they reach that stage. Lutfor foresees visiting female prostitutes, not boys. For
him, being a man means engaging in heterosexual encounters. He does not appear confused
about his sexual or gender identity. In his experience, little boys are powerless and must suffer.
When they grow up, they can be real men.
Case history 13. The social isolation of the workplace
Akash, 13 years old, is one of nine brothers and sisters. His father, a poor fisherman, sent him
to work for a wholesale dry fish merchant in Assadgonj market, Chittagong. When interviewed,
Akash had been working there for 1 years. His father comes every three months to collect
his salary, and that is his only contact with his family. He shares his sleeping space with five
older boys and admits to being sexually abused by two of them.
They do this to me one after the other. I don't like it at all but I cannot tell
anyone, least of all my employer. He would tell my father and my brothers and
sisters would know and they would think I have become bad. My employer is a
good man. He feeds me well and provides for what I need. That is why I stay. At
home, there is not enough food. But I would like to go home. I don't want to
sleep with these boys. I want to sleep alone.
Akash does not appear aware that he can say 'no'. Unlike boys who have been on the street
for some time, Akash has never been in contact with NGOs advocating child rights. He said he
did not go out or mix with many people. The boy showed low self-esteem and said he believed
he was 'bad'. His view of himself as a sinner further isolated him.
Some NGOs (such as Aparajeyo Bangladesh) have attempted to establish contact with
working boys such as Akash, but it has proven difficult. They have offered informal education
to working boys during their time off, but employers have not been cooperative and the
response has been poor.
If child labour is not controlled in large establishments such as glass factories, keeping check
on the countless small factories and hotels employing children is even less likely. Labour
inspectors are totally absent from these establishments. In these circumsances, employers
who offer sleeping space to their workers should be made aware of the sexual abuse the
youngest ones suffer and be persuaded of their responsibility for protecting the children. This
is a widespread problem that needs to be tackled.
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Case history 14. "Why should you complain? Are you a girl?"
Some boys explicitly convey the message that they are suffering from sexual abuse and want
to be removed from the situation. The family hears but sees no damage done because 'a boy
cannot be raped'.
Bhutto is 11 years old. His parents have been sending him to the glass factory for seven
months to learn the work (he does not get a salary). He refused to go for some time because
an 18-year-old boy abused him regularly, but he was forced to return and continues to be
abused. He said:
I don't feel like coming to the factory but if I don't I will not get fed, and father,
mother and brother will hit me. Once, I stayed on the street for two days but I
had to return because I had nothing to eat.
Kashem is a senior at the factory. He is crazy. He ties my knees with a rope and
he uses me. He removes my pants and passes his penis in my anus and rubs it
there. He bends me over when I am standing. Sometimes he puts me on top of
him and rubs himself against me. I get very tired of this.
I never told father but I told mother. She did not believe me. She said, "You are
looking for an excuse not to go to work. Your brother never spoke like this and
he has been working at the factory for many years and started even younger
than you."
Bhutto told his 14-year-old brother about what was happening. The brother understood very
well but rebuked him for speaking like a girl:
Why should you speak like this? Are you a girl? You speak as though you had
lost your caste/honour. Don't repeat what you told me. You should be patient.
When you get a salary, you can wear nice clothes, eat well and.."
Unable to remove himself from the abuse, Bhutto is trying to adjust. The senior who uses him
also abuses other factory boys. They joke among themselves, comparing the little gifts they
receive. Bhutto commented:
If mother fed me, I would not come here. If mother gave me importance, she
would not keep me here. She would find another job for me."
Bhutto's mother was interviewed. She said that Bhutto was lazy and did not like to work. She
wanted to tie him down. He must learn that in order to eat, one must work. "If you do not bake
the clay, it does not get hard. If you learn a job, there will always be problems," she said. The
mother works as a cook in a police lodging. She intimated that she also had to perform
services which she could not name. This is the reality for poor people, she said fatalistically.
She added, "If Bhutto was a girl, I would think differently."
Given that a boy is not vulnerable to losing his chastity as is a girl, Bhutto's mother accepts
that violence is part of growing up and the poor must put up with their lot. The brother alluded
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to the same when he asked Bhutto not to make such a fuss. A senior may use a boy sexually
but it is unimportant since it does not result in a loss of caste or social exclusion. Only girls are
vulnerable to rape. There are fundamental differences in the understanding of sex and sexual
abuse, which are constitutive of gender and inherent in the socialization of girls and boys.
3.2.2 Abuse with punishment for the abuser
Case history 15. Fighting back from a position of strength
In some cases, parents or elders hear about the abuse, intervene and stop the abusive
behaviour. Mahmud began working at his uncle's factory in Old Dhaka when he was 13 years
old. One night, with three other boys, they rented movies and watched them together. One
contained pornographic scenes. After two of the boys left, Mahmud stayed with 16-year-old
Babul, with whom he shared a sleeping space. Mahmud:
After the others left, Babul jumped over me and behaved like an animal. I could
not do anything. I waited for him to finish. What he did was revolting. In the
morning, I told uncle everything. I was not ashamed to speak. I wanted Babul to
pay for what he had done to me. Uncle acted straight away. He took an iron bar
and beat him up. Then he kicked him out and warned him never to come in the
area again.
Mahmud was in a position of strength because his uncle owned the factory. Now 18, Mahmud
is in charge of the same factory, and the abuse seems to have left little scar. He felt properly
vindicated. A similar situation occurred at a brick kiln with a boy whose cousin was the
supervisor. The morning after being sexually abused by a senior co-worker, he reported it to
his cousin. The aggressor was immediately beaten up and dismissed.
These boys had some social power because of their connections. Though this did not prevent
the abuse, it ensured quick punishment of the aggressor. For these boys, sexual abuse was a
one-time affair. They made sure it did not happen again.
Some parents have been found to listen to their sons and remove them from abusive
situations. This is possible when they live with them and are attentive to their well-being.
Aslam, 11 years old, was a shop assistant in New Market, Dhaka. He lived with his family in a
nearby slum but sometimes slept in the shop when it closed late. One of these times he was
sexually abused by the shop manager.
At first, he did not say anything but after being abused three nights in a row, he refused to go
to work. His mother first got angry and pressured him but he was adamant. Aslam finally told
his brother-in-law and the mother found out. She met the shop owner and Aslam was assigned
to another shop belonging to the same man. The abusive manager, a man with experience,
was not dismissed, and could abuse new boys when he gets a chance. For Aslam, the
problem was resolved except for the repercussions it had in the slum. Many found out, and
boys mocked him. Asked why they made hurtful comments to Aslam, an older boy replied:
Aslam is a boy. Why did he not protest? Why did he allow the manager to use
him in this way? We want to help him be a real boy.
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Boys known to have been sexually abused are often taunted by other would-be abusers in the
same way that girls are following abuse. These boys are called magi (female of low class)
because they were used in this way. Some of them could be on a 'slippery slope', especially if
they identify with the feminine. To become a man requires fighting back against the suspicion.
Those unable to repel the label 'magi' suffer psychological pain and possibly confusion.
3.3 Abuse in the Middle Class
Case history 16. Keeping the secret in the family
Shubro, from a middle class family in a district town, was 12 years old when his father moved
to another location for his work. It was decided that Shubro, a good student, should remain at
his school to avoid disturbing his studies. He was left with a 24-year-old bachelor who was his
tutor.
After a few months, Shubro's aunt observed that he had become very quiet and appeared
easily frightened. Her apprehension that something was wrong was confirmed when the boy's
school results badly deteriorated. She asked her brother-in-law to keep an eye on him. One
day, Shubro was found at home when he should have been at school. He kept going to the
toilet and looked in great pain. At the suggestion that he should see a doctor, the boy froze,
started crying and finally revealed that his tutor had been sexually abusing him for several
months.
The boy was immediately moved to his aunt's home. This educated family might have
considered consulting a psychologist but there are none in the town; doctors were not
considered useful. The aunt provided the support she could. Eight months later Shubro's
school performance had improved but he had not regained his self-confidence. The tutor was
never confronted. The young brother-in-law wanted to beat him up, but family elders warned
him that this could attract attention, which would only complicate matters for Shubro. It goes
without saying that no legal case was pursued. The family turned down a request to interview
the boy.
Highly concerned about school performance, middle class parents are often blind to the
psychological distress that can result from sexual abuse. In this case, the father saw his son
once a month, paid his board and tuition but did not see the warning signs. He would never
have thought that his son could be a victim of sexual abuse. Daughters are closely watched as
their safety is a great concern to parents, but sons are not considered exposed to such risk.
In a focus group discussion held in Dhaka, mothers reported supervising their daughters'
tutoring lessons closely, making sure an adult was present at all times. But they did not see
cause for worry for sons. The door could be closed and tutor and student could touch and
joke; the possibility that improper gestures could be made did not enter their thoughts. Boys
have also been abused in their homes by visiting relatives who shared a same bed. In families
where such events are known to have occurred, mothers restrict their hospitality or modify
sleeping arrangements but do not confront the abuser. This is called 'technical' management.
One is struck by the importance given to safeguarding the abuser's good reputation in middle
class homes.
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3.4 Abuse of Madrassah Students
Case history 17. Blaming the victim
A 12-year-old boy studying in a madrassah was sexually abused by the madrassah guard. The
situation got worse when the other students left on holiday and this boy stayed behind. Finally
the boy complained to the madrassah head when classes resumed. He was told that it was his
fault - he had not said his prayers properly, had not bathed regularly and had not kept a pure
mind; this is why the abuser had been attracted to him. The devil was with him and he should
increase his attention to this. The guard was not dismissed, but the abuse stopped, and it can
be presumed that he was admonished as well.
This approach spreads the blame on both the abused and the abuser. Placing a child victim of
sexual abuse and the adult who abuses him in the same category on the ground that both
committed a sin is unacceptable. A child should not be made responsible for sexual acts
initiated by an adult for the adult's satisfaction. Such a notion is aberrant and does not accord
with the principles of child rights. Several madrassah students reiterated the importance of
keeping body and mind pure (pak, pobitro) as a protection against the devil's work. Another
protection is early marriage. A boy explained:
When people are married early, they get protected from much of this bad work
of the devil. But now marriage is delayed, so lots of sins are committed. In the
village, people are better than in town. Parda (wearing the veil) is observed and
girls only go out with their parents. Marriage is early. It would be good to marry
early.
Case history 18. "We are not allowed to speak about sex"
It is a particularly serious matter when teachers misuse their authority and take advantage of
children's trust, in a madrassah or elsewhere. Two cases were recorded in which the abuser
was an Islamic teacher (huzur) in his early 20s. One was in a Dhaka slum, where the young
teacher had just completed his studies and lived with his uncle while looking for a job.
Meanwhile, he gave lessons to a few children. He was caught red handed when a 10-year-old
student screamed in protest. People quickly gathered in the crowded neighbourhood,
demanding to know how a huzur could do such a thing to a child. Vitriolic insults were thrown
at the young man, and he was asked to leave immediately.
The second case was recorded in a village of Patuakhali. Borhanuddin, 15 years old, found
himself the only student one day at the madrassah when there was a substitute teacher, about
21 years old. The teacher asked the boy to oil his body and then to masturbate him. Two years
later, Borhanuddin was still disturbed.
I do not like to think about this. That a teacher could have done this to me when
I was too young to understand still haunts me. Now, when I oil my body, I think
about it and I still feel disgusted.
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Borhanuddin (still a madrassah student) had not talked to anyone about the incident, but
clearly he had not overcome it. Another madrassah student, Saiful, 16 years old, described the
madrassah environment in the following terms:
NGOs visit here but they only speak with the main huzur (religious head). We
get UNICEF leaflets on HIV/AIDS. Otherwise, in our school, we are not allowed
to speak about sex. We never speak about this openly. But many students are
involved in bad work.
Like everybody, I have 'shopno dosh' (involuntary ejaculations), sometimes after
lunch. I bathe straight away and become pure again. One must be vigilant.
Where there is Allah's work, the devil is also present, and sometimes the devil
wins.
These few stories collected from madrassah students suggest a particular environment and a
specifc understanding of sexuality and sexual abuse. It is concerning that sexuality (out of
wedlock) is equated with the devil and that responsibilities for the 'devil's action' should be
attributed to the abused as well as the abuser. From a child rights point of view, such a theory
cannot be condoned, for sexually mature adults are responsible for their acts, and the child
cannot be made accountable for what is done to him/her.
The different theories explaining sexual behaviour and the resulting attributions of
responsibility are important topics needing to be researched. In an environment where
sexuality remains a taboo subject, conducting research is not easy, but it must be done. Also
important is teaching about the right to protection against sexual abuse. The topic should be
addressed in teacher training institutes and colleges. A recent survey indicated that only 19 per
cent of teachers in madrassahs had gone through a teacher training course, a much lower
proportion than in mainstream schools.
12
3.5 Abuse of Boys Living on the Street
Children on the street are at high risk of sexual abuse (girls more than boys, partly because
boys have more ability to protect themselves). Children on the street quickly become 'clever'
and learn how to avoid certain people or situations. People living on the street quickly spot
newcomers and may inform mastaans (troublemakers) about newly arrived children. Various
gang leaders confirmed that they seek out newcomers as they are presumed to be 'clean' and
are easy prey because they are unaware.
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12
The 2008 report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics mentions that there is only 1 madrassah
teacher training institute compared to 54 government primary teacher training institutes and 14 teacher training colleges. In
addition, there are 85 non-governmental teacher training institutes.
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Case history 19. Fast learning on the street
Shahed, 16 years old, came to Chittagong railway station a year ago. He described his first
night out.
I was sleeping at the station together with other boys. One mastaan came,
pulled me up and asked me where I came from. Then he said, 'You come with
me.' I went. When I was asleep he came over me, did his work and threw me
out with a stick. What could I do? I stayed awake the whole night. That man is
still here. He is a ganja (marijuana) dealer. I heard this is his habit and he did
this to many boys.
Shahed was powerless against the ganja dealer but he made sure he would not be abused
twice, even if it meant a few sleepless nights. Now a rickshaw puller, he lives in a shack near
the station to avoid these hassles. Many boys talked of their ordeal when they first arrived on
the street, alone and without friends. Another one said:
I came to Sadarghat when I was 8 years old. The BIWTA staff removed me and
I went to sleep inside. There, two employees caught me and raped me. I
screamed and they stuffed my vest in my mouth. "Son of a bitch. No one will
come to your rescue. No need to scream", they yelled at me. After that, I got
afraid and was very careful not to sleep alone. I stayed where there were a lot
of people and it never happened again.
Street boys are regularly solicited for sexual services. A boy explained how, after refusing the
sexual advances of an older man, the man wrongly accused him of theft the next morning. He
took a beating but was proud to say that he stood his ground, refusing to go with the man.
Such a stand would be difficult for a boy approached by a superior in a work context. Boys
living on the street boast of their 'freedom', and their rebellious spirit may help them to say 'no'.
3.6 Boys and Sex Work
The NGO INCIDIN Bangladesh operates a shelter home for boys working in prostitution.
Defining boy sex workers is difficult. Does it include those who accept a meal once in a while
in exchange for sex? Is the label applied to those who are sexually abused once or twice?
INCIDIN'S definition is highly inclusive, comprising boys who - once, occasionally or regularly -
provide sex for money, services or gifts in kind.
With such an inclusive definition, the majority of boys living on the street could be called sex
workers. INCIDIN considers that ". in case of the boys (as children), there is no question of
agency or of choice when it comes to involvement in the network of male prostitution. As such,
all the boys within the male prostitution network can be treated as 'forcefully' engaged."
Several observers (including children on the street) do not share INCIDIN's reading that most
boys on the street are sexually abused, have no control over their lives, are exploited by a
third party, have no agency and are 'trafficked'.
Some organizations merge sexual abuse/prostitution and trafficking. Boys and girls engaging
in prostitution are considered manipulated, which renders their consent irrelevant. The
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meaning that boys and girls give to their acts and the identities they subscribe to are
considered unimportant. This theory is discussed further below.
3.7 Boys Sexually Abused by Women
The belief that women are generally victims is so strong that it precludes seeing them as
perpetrators of sexual abuse. It is not even imagined that women may abuse children or
adolescents for their own pleasure.
Case history 20. Abuse compounded by deceit and disbelief
Haroon is a garage helper. Small built, he looks younger than his 16 years of age. Last year,
his family left him behind when they visited the village for Eid, and he was entrusted to a bhabi
('elder brother's wife', meaning here the wife of senior colleague who is like a brother), a
childless woman in her mid-30s married to a truck driver. The bhabi was to cook Haroon's
meals and present him with the new clothes his family purchased for Eid. Haroon explained:
On the eve of Eid, I returned at 11 o'clock at night. I ate my meal and I went to
sleep. Then bhabi came to me. At first, I did not understand. She pulled off my
pants I did not like what she did to me but I could not say anything. At one
stage, I told her, "Bhabi what are you doing? Go away." She replied, "Come,
come. I will treat you." Then she got on top of me
She was still embracing me when her husband walked in. Her husband was
drunk but he reacted strongly. To protect herself, she told him, "You see what
this boy did to me?" The husband seized something to hit me but before he
could do so, I ran away. I spent the night on the embankment and never got my
new clothes for Eid.
When Haroon's parents came back, the bhabi complained to them: "This boy is grown up.
Marry him quickly." The stepfather (also a truck driver and a friend of bhabi's husband)
understood perfectly well. He beat up Haroon and told him that, from this day onward, he
would have to stay at the garage.
This very confusing and painful affair was Haroon's first sexual experience. A year later,
Haroon appears lacking self-confidence. His stepfather collects his salary directly from the
employer, leaving him no pocket money, a punishment for his bad behaviour. Haroon cannot
go home, has no money to escape and suffers in silence.
This story demonstrates the strength of common representations of gender: males are abusers
of females and females are victims. It also shows the lack of power of an adolescent boy
working but deprived of his salary. Haroon was caught by surprise. The worst may not have
been the unwanted sex but what followed. To be accused of raping a woman twice his age,
ostracized by the family and punished for a wrong not committed is abusive. The bhabi who
sought her pleasure and accused Haroon wrongly bears full responsibility. So does the
stepfather who rushed to a conclusion without listening to the boy.
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Another story contains a similar scenario involving a boy of 15 and a woman of about 23 years
of age. The boy is trusted by the woman's husband, who is the boy's employer. He has free
access to their home, where the wife seduces him. Afterwards, the boy feels ashamd and
guilty. He walks the streets of Dhaka for a month before telling his family that he quit his job.
He never told them the reason.
These two women sought their pleasure from boys they considered easy game. They may
have been trapped in marriages that brought them little satisfaction, and married women have
less scope than men to conduct extramarital affairs, but that does not excuse abusing
adolescent boys. To the women, the boys were safe because of their young age, inexperience
and lower socio-economic position. In both cases, the women's husbands dominated the boys,
adding to their fear.
While these two stories may be considered anecdotal, they raise the question of conventional
gender roles in relation to sexual abuse. The sexual abuse of adolescent boys by 'powerful'
women is an unresearched area.
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CHAPTER 4. SEXUAL ABUSE OF GIRLS IN
MARRIAGE
4.1 Incidence of Child Marriage
The legal age of marriage in Bangladesh is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. The recent
Demographic and Health Survey found that the median age at marriage for girls was 15.4
(14.8 in rural areas and 15.8 in urban areas) and 24.5 for boys. These data confirm that the
legal age of marriage for girls is not enforced and the large age discrepancy between
husbands and wives continues to exist.
Arguments put forward to convince families to delay the marriage of daughters generally hinge
around the health risks of early pregnancy and the high rate of violence and divorce among
girls married young. The violation of child rights is seldom invoked, and sexual abuse is not
openly denounced. Rape within marriage is not recognized. There can be violence but not
rape, as the husband is 'entitled' to his wife. Marriage of underage girls is a 'sale' with the
blessings of guardians. In spite of an intensive campaign conducted by the Government,
UNICEF, NGOs and citizens, early marriage is still common. How to explain this enduring
practice?
During this research five girls were interviewed who had been married at 11 to 15 years of
age. It was clear that in four cases the marriage was forced and the girls were very reluctant to
consummate the union.
Case history 21. The headmaster and the registrar ignore the law
In July 2009, Lipi, age 13, a student of class VI, was married to Rashid, age 28. Her father had
died four months earlier, leaving the family without a breadwinner. Lipi, the eldest of three
sisters, has no brother, and it was felt the family needed a male guardian. Lipi's uncle sought a
husband for Lipi through a matchmaker, and Rashid's family offered to take the girl without a
dowry. Lipi's mother did not have the power to oppose the uncle's decision, and the marriage
was arranged. Eight months after the marriage, when Lipi was two months pregnant, she was
interviewed, as were her mother, uncle and the marriage registrar.
Lipi's perspective:
My father would not have allowed this. He would not have slaughtered me in
this way. I was taken by force to my husband. I looked for a way to escape from
the start but many people had gathered for the marriage. I got a chance at
night. I ran across field (7 kilometres). I did not fear. Everyone was astonished
when I turned up at my mother's. Uncle immediately took me back. He
explained to my in-laws that I was still young and should be forgiven.
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Grandmother stayed with me this time. She tried to convince me, saying that
she was married at 9 and she kept her husband even though he was much
older. I understood that she was not on my side and I ran away again. Again,
my uncle took me back. He did not want neighbours to see what I had done.
A few days later, I ran away again daytime. I wanted everyone to see that I was
forced into that marriage. Uncle came with a stick and beat me up. He said if
mother sided with me, he would throw all the family out. Mother appealed to me.
If I wanted to save her from destitution, I should go to that husband. The third
time I was returned, I resigned even if I was to die. The kazi (registrar) who
married me tied an amulet to my arm so that I calm down and accept my fate.
On that day, I was taken to Narayangonj.
Both families agreed that Lipi should be taken to Narayangonj, a distant place from where she
would not be able to escape. It was determined the protesting girl had to be tamed into
wifehood. The marriage was consummated in Narayangonj.
When he first used me I was stiff and could not say a word. The next day, I was
swollen and felt torn inside. I was bleeding a lot. I think my first menstruation
started then. I was all alone and I felt sick and depressed. At lunch time, he
came. I had not cooked his lunch and he got angry with me. After that, he used
me every night. He gave me no respite.
Now 14 years old and two months pregnant, Lipi said she did not want the child. She said
again, "They have slaughtered me."
The uncle's perspective
The uncle who arranged Lipi's marriage is headmaster of the local high school, a position that
should put him in the vanguard of child protection. He attended a training on child protection,
and two of his teachers attended a three-day training. These sessions covered the 19 points of
the APON project (which aims to empower adolescent girls), one of which explicitly denounces
the harm of child marriage. The Ministry of Education requires the headmaster to report every
year on the number of school dropouts and the reasons for them, and BRAC demands similar
monthly reports. If he hears about child marriage, he is supposed to try to prevent it.
The headmaster knows about the harm of child marriage but did not apply that knowledge to
his niece. When asked why, he said that it was justified because a male guardian was needed
for this all-female family. (However, Lipi's husband works in Dhaka and seldom visits the
village.) The uncle added that the village is not a safe environment and that providing for his
brother's family was too heavy a burden. The headmaster was not criticized for his action, and
most villagers agreed with it. Lipi was an orphan, despite her mother being alive, and she had
to accept her fate. In his defence the uncle argued that he duly registered the marriage and
negotiated a reasonable den mohor (dower or money pledged to the wife in an Islamic
marriage contract).
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The registrar's perspective
The registrar knew the law and always recorded the bride's age as 18. He was not concerned
about whether Lipi had a birth certificate (she had none). He commented:
I agreed to this marriage because of the girl's circumstances. Her father died
and her mother is poor. The uncle did the right thing in marrying her. For me,
there is no risk since guardians agreed on both sides.
It did not matter that the bride did not consent. A local man, the registrar understands perfectly
well where the power lies in his community. The risks of ignoring the law are negligible for him,
and his books are in order. Considering national statistics on the number of girls married
before age 18, it is safe to assume that his attitude is common. Also, the registrar is authorized
to keep 1 per cent of the den mohor entered on the marriage contract, so there is an economic
incentive for registering a marriage. The attitude is fatalistic; things have always been this way
and there is no reason to change.
No one blames us for registering the marriage of girls under 18. We close our
eyes and marry them. This is also a source of income. If I refuse to register a
marriage, the girl will be married in another union. Chairman, member and
headmaster marry their relatives at an early age. How could they protest?
Case history 22. Marriage of very young girls without registration
In a neighbouring village, an 11-year-old girl was married in a religious ceremony that was not
officially registered. The girl is from the fishermen community, and the Chairman said this was
their custom; they regulated their affairs and caused no problem, and the Chairman did not
see why he should interfere.
The people of the fishermen community say they know about the law because they listen to
television and have contacts with NGOs. However, arranging a marriage concerns families and
community, not government. This opinion was expressed by a respected male leader of the
community at a focus group discussion attented by men and women. Isolated communities
that remain largely outside the purview of government and NGO interventions are scattered
throughout the country. Parents prefer to marry their daughters early, and the in-laws value
young girls who can be easily moulded according to their wishes. The husband of the 11-year-
old expressed his luck at having such a young wife:
My wife is entirely pure as though she just came out of her mother's womb. She
could not been soiled in her body or in her soul. She is most precious. At that
age, a girl does not know how to protest and can easily be moulded.
The husband, a migrant worker in his mid-20s, was seen playing marbles with his child bride to
make her lose her fear, he said. The marriage had not yet been consummated.
Another man, age 25, working in a factory in Gazipur, had just married a 14-year-old girl,
receiving a dowry of 100,000 taka. The marriage was consummated after the girl was slapped
by her sister-in-law for refusing to go to her husband. The husband described his wife as
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unknowing, naive and stupid. He plans to take her to the city and be her 'teacher'. He has
decided that she should work for a few years before having children, and her salary will be his.
Such attitudes prevent adolescent girls from realizing their own rights and developing into
adulthood on their own terms.
One of the girls interviewed, age 13, had been married for a year and half to a man in his mid-
30s. The husband works in a distant location and comes to his wife two or three times a year -
a relief to the girl, who recalls the misery of her first night with him. Her husband forced her to
have sex three times in spite of her protest, which he silenced by placing his hand over her
mouth. In the morning, she sought consolation from her grandmother, who rebuked her: "Don't
you have any shame? You should not speak like this of your husband. Do not tell this to
anyone." The grandmother had been silenced long ago.
4.2 Faint Signs of Change
Lipi (from case study 21) was unimpressed upon learning that her grandmother had married at
age 9 without protest. These were not her values. She had been a student at a BRAC school.
Later, she attended lessons given by peer educators of the Kishori Abhijan project. Although
she could not change her uncle's mind, she understood that she had a right to protest. She
said that she will not allow her little sisters to be 'slaughtered' in the way she was. But despite
internalizing new values, Lipi could not apply them in her life: the threat that her mother and
two sisters would be thrown out melted her opposition to the marriage, outwardly at least.
NGOs and media occasionally report of students intervening to stop the marriage of a
schoolmate, proudly displaying photographs on their office walls. But these occasional success
stories do not reflect the complexity of the situation. 'Knowledge' acquired through training
programmes does not suffice. Dominant patriarchal values, long-standing gender roles and
economic power in the hands of guardians all combine to force girls into marriage against their
will. Lipi's uncle commented that he acted quickly because "Lipi's mother is member of NGOs.
She could change her mind. Thank god, she is not educated. If she was, it would be very
difficult to control her." This recognition that education empowers girls is, ironically, a hopeful
sign of change to come.
Case history 23. Marriage forced on children in a relationship
This case addresses not sexual abuse but the issue of adolescents and sexuality. Seema and
Parvez, who were neighbours and worked in the same garment factory, began a relationship.
Seema became pregnant when she was 13 and a half and Parvez was 15. The two families
quarreled; Seema was accused of enticing Parvez so that dowry could not be claimed and
Parvez was accused of taking advantage of Seema. A shalish (arbitration at community level)
was held and Parvez was made to marry Seema, whose reputation had been tarnished. Their
loving relationship was transformed into shame and punishment. "I was caught, I was hung,"
said Parvez.
Seema stopped working and gave birth to a girl, 7 months old at the time of the interview.
Mother and child are in very poor health. Parvez, who pulls a rickshaw, can hardly afford to
feed his family and is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Garment factory workers, being
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earners, are not considered 'children' and are known to marry young. But they are not adults
either. What lessons should be drawn from such problematic outcome?
Family planning campaigns have been addressed to married couples, and condoms have been
made available to sex workers. But adolescents who do not fall in these categories have been
ignored. Young people, both working and not, need to know about reproduction and
contraception. Parvez and Seema, who were totally ignorant of these matters, took no
precaution and got caught. Both are sorry for the outcome. Parents, guardians and arbitrators
need to realize that marriage at such young ages, in addition to being illegal, is detrimental to
health and carries more harms than benefits.
This research has found that constraints placed on adolescent exploration of sexuality are
more likely to lead to outlets such as prostitution and pornography. Using sex workers or
developing same-sex relationships are considered relatively safe for boys, while falling in love
with a girl is considered dangerous. Parvez would agree with this.
Yet adolescent boys' use of sex workers or younger boys increases the likelihood of abuse to
girls and boys. Young people must learn about sexuality, responsibility and respect for self and
others. Parents who are themselves 'children', like Seema and Parvez, are badly in need of
support to prevent continuing a cycle of poverty, deprivation and failure to realize child rights.
4.3 Summary
The case histories documented demonstrate the wide gap between international conventions
and national laws on the one hand and the values and practices adhered to, especially in
some pockets of society, on the other hand. Lipi's determination not to allow her sisters to
share her fate can be read as a sign of change. Girls like Lippi - who attended a BRAC school,
were exposed to concepts of child rights and were informed about the illegality of child
marriage - know that they are entitled to protest. But for change to occur, mothers of daughters
must be empowered. If Lipi's mother had had the means to sustain her family after her
husband's death, she would not have allowed Lipi's marriage at such a young age.
Another critical issue is the view of the social environment as unsafe for adolescent girls,
which is used to justify their early marriage. Guardians fear both that girls will freely engage in
relationships and that they will be violated under duress. Actions undertaken freely are judged
just as dangerous as rape since both situations cause a girl to become noshto. The marital
home is considered safe, but how safe is it for married girls? Girls married below the age of 15
speak of fear, tension and duties forced upon them for which they are not ready, such as
sexual service to the husband, pregnancy and childbirth. The 'delicate' issue should be
exposed and named for what it is: child sexual abuse. It is crucial to create safe space for girls.
But there is no agreement on how to ensure protection in Bangladesh.
Society as a whole dreads the manifestation of girls' agency. Lipi's rebel spirit represents the
generation coming of age. The director of the Kishori Abhijan project in Jamalpur, a bright and
confident woman in her 40s, said she took up the job because she was herself married at the
age of 14 - giving her very personal reasons to work on behalf of changing society.
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CHAPTER 5. ADOLESCENTS ENGAGED IN
PROSTITUTION
13
5.1 Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Other Labels
The commercial sexual exploitation of children refers to girls and boys (under the age of 18)
who engage in sex work, are exploited in the production of pornographic material or participate
in any other commercial enterprise of a sexual character. In international fora there has been
discussion about whether sex for payment is tolerable for adolescents over the age of sexual
consent as long as no third party profits. However, both International Labour Organization
Convention 182 and the CRC unequivocally classify a child as anyone under 18 years of age,
and Convention 182 defines the "use of a child for prostitution" as a "worst form of child
labour" (article 3 (b)). The Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography (2000) equally condemns such activity. International
conventions are consistent, but this does not make the interpretation and application to specific
societies any less problematic.
The law in Bangladesh equally condemns prostitution (girls implied) below the age of 18. At
age 18, a woman can get an affidavit stating that she has freely taken up prostitution and such
a document has been interpreted as a license to operate in government-recognized brothels
(where the police are officially mandated to keep law and order). However, given the absence
or unreliability of birth registration and vagueness about or manipulation of age,
implementation of this requirement has been arbitrary.
14
Though prostitution below the age of 18 is illegal, young persons below that age have long
engaged in it. Brothel culture effectively sanctioned the practice of introducing into the trade
daughters of prostitutes and bonded girls as young as 12 years old. It was assumed that
daughters of prostitutes had little choice but to take up their mothers' profession, as they were
rejected by 'good' society and constituted a kind of caste. Some girls born outside the brothel
came of their own accord, but others were 'purchased' or forced. They worked without affidavit
or their sardarni (in the brothel, a madam who owns bonded sex workers) obtained a 'licence'
for them by unlawful means. These practices have been well documented.
15
The doors of
brothels (which had been effectively 'closed quarters') were flung opened when projects to
combat the spread of HIV/AIDS began in the mid-1990s. Child prostitution and child bondage
were also seriously addressed. Prior to this, scandals occasionally erupted and a few rescue
operations were carried out, but the system was not seriously challenged.
Today, 11 to 12 officially recognized brothels remain open in the country after many were
closed down, mostly following local initiatives to recapture the land. The number of bonded sex
workers and young daughters being exploited in officially recognized brothels has considerably
45
13
According to UNICEF, girls and boys under the age of 18 are children and should not engage in prostitution; if they do,
regardless of their consent, they are considered sexually exploited children. The researcher's choice of the term 'adolescents
engaged in prostitution' based on the findings of the research does not imply UNICEF endorsement.
14
See S. Boneschi (2004), p. 19.
15
Blanchet (1996), p. 123-143.
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fallen - officially there are none - for this reason and due to governmental and non-
governmental interventions and the opening of shelter homes for daughters of prostitutes.
Today the youngest girls engaging in prostitution are found on the street, in small private
brothels operating illegally in middle class neighbourhoods, slums and temporary
accommodations that keep changing addresses.
The Bangla terms used to name girls engaged in prostitution do not distinguish 'child' from
'adult'. The brothel has terms denoting status (madam, independent sex worker, daughter,
bonded girl) whereas popular words - khanki, nautie, beshya, noshto meye - signal the social
marginalization of those engaging in an immoral trade. Such words are used commonly to
refer to all, regardless of age. The expression 'sex worker' popularized with the introduction of
programmes to combat HIV/AIDS in the late 1990s is claimed by those engaged in these
programmes. A considerable gap therefore remains between the principles enshrined in
international conventions and the national law on the one hand and the local perceptions about
those who engage in prostitution on the other. The following case histories show that girls
engaged in prostitution strongly reject being called 'children' and do not identify with the label
of being exploited.
5.2 Age and Location of Girls Engaged in Sex Work
For the case histories, girls were met where they solicit customers. Locations, mostly urban,
included:
O Street, railway stations, river ports and parks: 42 girls
O Officially recognized brothels: 17 girls
O Private brothels (Dhaka): 8 girls
O Hotels (Dhaka): 2 girls.
The girls do not necessarily solicit and entertain customers in the same place. Girls working on
the street use the street, hotels, private homes and workers' lodgings, depending on the
season, opportunity and customers' choices. Some girls work part time, and their main identity
is not 'prostitute'.
Table 2 shows the ages of the girls and one boy interviewed for the case histories compared to
those in the INCIDIN survey, which included a much larger sample (431 sex workers).
Table 2. Age of sex workers interviewed
46
Girls Boys Total Per cent INCIDIN study (per cent)
Below 12 years 2 -- 2 3 2.8
12 to 14 12 -- 12 20 16.5
15 to 17 45 1 46 76 75.6
18-19 -- -- -- -- 5.1
Total 59 1 60
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5.3 The 'Slippery Slope' from Sexual Abuse to Prostitution
The great majority of girls and boys interviewed who were sexually abused did not engage in
prostitution and never considered doing so. However, 43 per cent of the girls found engaging
in prostitution had been sexually abused before joining the trade.
In a human rights context, the term 'slippery slope' implies a descent from lesser to greater
exploitation. It will be seen that individual situations vary greatly, and taking up prostitution is
not necessarily a descent into a more exploitative situation; it depends on the previous history
of abuse, how much control a girl has over her 'work' and income and her social class
background. Literature on the sexual exploitation of children tends to focus on abuse, but case
histories demonstrate that empowerment can also result from the capacity to earn and to
control one's life. Sex workers have their own opinions about what is unacceptable
exploitation, that is, what is a reasonable payment or obligation to 'protectors'.
Case history 24: From a glass factory to prostitution
A tea stall owner in Narayangonj identified Fahima, 15 years old, as a sex worker based in a
glass factory. Fahima said:
Father used to work at the glass factory. He fell sick and my little brother and I
replaced him. I was 13 years old and my brother was 11. It took me about a
year to understand the work and get used to the environment. On many days, I
did not want to go because of the bad language I had to hear and could not
repeat to my parents. I got pinched, touched and grabbed, but I could not tell
this to mother. Father knew the place but as a sick man, he could not say
anything. My salary went from 500 to 900 taka. I gave it all to mother. Now, I do
much better. I have another job. I have no worry.
Fahima continues to work at the factory, but her main income is from prostitution. She recruits
her clients on the shop floor, and her job serves as social 'cover'. Asked how she decided to
take up sex work, she replied, "I decided that if I was to take a shower, I should get totally
wet." Fahima did not say how much she earned, but she was proud to announce that she was
her family's main support. Her brother did not work regularly and earned very little. She added:
Sometimes, I want to thank mother for pushing me out. Otherwise, I would still
be stuck at home. I learned a lot after taking up this other work.
Fahima does not describe a descent into hell; she refers to prostitution as a stopgap that
arrested the descent after being harrassed and gave her greater control over her life. She is
proud of her capacity to support the family. She has proved wrong her parents' idea that
daughters are burden; in her family, it is the opposite. Fahima expresses an opinion commonly
heard among sex workers: prostitution is taken up positively when it replaces a situation
considered worse.
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Case history 25. From domestic work to prostitution
Rekha, 15 years old, was met at the launch terminal in Narayangonj when she had been
engaged in prostitution for about a year. Her childhood was punctuated with losses through
which she remembers her age:
I know my age. I was 8 when father died of TB and 11 when mother died of the
same illness. I was 13 when I left home. I 'understand' from the age of 11. This
was after mother died.
16
After her mother died, Rekha stayed with her maternal uncles, but their wives did not like the
children living there, she said. "That is why they sent my sister and me to work. They only kept
my brother." Rekha had a good relationship with her grandmother, but she was dependent on
her sons and could not keep Rekha. So when a village 'auntie' offered to take Rekha to Dhaka
and place her in a home as maid, the grandmother agreed.
Auntie did not say anything about pay to grandmother but she made a two-year
contract with the employer for 300 taka per month. She demanded 7,200 taka
for 24 months. She took 7,000 taka and gave me 200 taka. Then she left and
never came again. I only knew that she lived in Bondor.
Rekha worked hard for long hours. She found her situation bearable until the night when the
employer's younger brother, a college student, raped her.
There were nine people living in my employer's home and I had to serve them
all. I was hit when I did anything wrong and I worked hard but otherwise I was
OK. I slept on the floor in the drawing room. One night, A. came upon me,
seized my breasts and put his hand over my mouth. He did his work as he
pleased, then warned me not to say anything. I did not sleep the rest of the
night. At daybreak, I fled with the 200 taka and headed for Bondor to find auntie.
Rekha could not find the 'auntie'. A boy named Saddam who worked as a hawker helped her
find a job in a restaurant, where she worked 14 hours a day for 50 taka. At night, she slept in
the open at the launch terminal.
Police, night guards, boys disturbed us and we could not sleep, so I fell asleep
at the hotel during the day. I had no place to keep my money and got robbed
many times. After six months, I understood that I was lost. I could not go back
home because I left with auntie and I could not return without her. They would
blame me and maybe punish me.
Girls not daring to return home without a guardian lest they be labeled 'bad' and 'spoiled' is a
common reaction. In any case, Rekha knew that she would not be welcome as an orphan
without parents to care for her. She established a regular sexual relationship with Saddam.
"Saddam helped me but his services were not free," Rekha commented. At the terminal, she
met people who told her that she could earn much more if she sold what she gave for free.
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16
After her mother died Rekha understood that her carefree childhood was over; she became aware that she was an orphan and
a burden for her uncles.
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One day, Rekha told Saddam that she intended to take up prostitution. As he strongly
objected, she asked if he would marry her. The answer was clear: she was not the kind of girl
that he could take as a wife. His answer shocked her. He said:
I can help you find a job but I cannot marry you. Girls like you do not give birth
to good children. I don't know where you come from. You are a floating girl.
This made Rekha even more determined to take up prostitution. If she could not be a 'good'
girl, she would be a 'bad' girl. Her first customer was the same boyfriend.
I asked him to pay me 500 taka if he wanted me. He was astonished. He
offered me 300 but I refused to take him. He then mortgaged his mobile phone
for 500 taka and used me violently. He hurt me. He said he purchased me and
he could use me in any way he liked. I understood that I had to accept this. I
also understood how much value my body had. I became very daring after this.
Rekha developed a new ethos and learned to master her emotions:
I used to cry a lot. Now I don't. How can I cry? If I do, people will think I am
weak and they will cheat me. For the last year, I did not allow shame, fears and
tears. I did not allow such feelings.
The sequence of events in Rekha's life demonstrate the 'slippery slope': orphaned, sent to
work in Dhaka as a maid, cheated of her salary,
17
raped by a relative of the employer, escaped
in search of an 'auntie' (her exploiter) whom she never found, linked up with a boy who helped
her in exchange for sex, became a sex worker. She describes a descent into greater
exploitation. However, becoming a sex worker procured her some comfort.
For one year, my life was like a ball game. They had the bat and I was the ball.
Now, they are the ball and I am the bat. Before I spent 17 days in the same
clothes but now, I have several sets of shelwar kameez. I used to go hungry,
now I eat biriyani and khichuri. I rested my head on bricks, now I have a soft
pillow, a mattress, a blanket and a mosquito net.
Is this claim to empowerment mere boasting? In terms of material wealth, Rekha's situation
has improved. After paying bribes and other costs, she claims to have 5,000 to 6,000 taka a
month. Similar levels of income have been recorded in the INCIDIN study (2008), which found
an average income of 5,992 taka derived exclusively from prostitution. It is also found that girls
have considerably higher income (Tk. 6603) than boys.
The INCIDIN report notes: "The girls during the study process have repeatedly highlighted that
they do not 'value' the income from Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) as they consider it as 'dirty
money'. Thus the higher income of the girls is found to be associated with a higher level of
stigma and moral torment - which work to undermine the real value of the apparent 'high
income' of the girls in CSE. "
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17
Some define as trafficking involvement in the mobility of a child combined with financial benefits (INCIDIN 2008). Under such
criteria, a very high percentage of street children can be said to be trafficked. The author holds that these criteria alone cannot
define trafficking.
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This statement deserves comment. There are many things money can buy, including a decent
place to live, freedom from want and a certain comfort. Rekha, who has known extreme
poverty, highly appreciates the well-being that money provides. There is a belief that ill-gotten
money will not ensure lasting prosperity and may destabilize anyone facing misfortune. The
statement that money from prostitution has no 'value' for those who earn it mostly reflects the
point of view of the 'moral' society, to which sex workers belong but from which they are also
excluded. Exclusion sharpens a critical stance. Prostitutes are full of sarcasm for the scrutiny
their work receives, the questionable 'value' society attributes to their income and the double
standard applied to men's ill-gotten money in this respect.
18
Money certainly matters. One of the reasons why reintegration and rehabilitation of young
prostitutes has been so difficult is precisely because money earned in prostitution is valued
and cannot be found elsewhere.
Case history 26. From abuse in a garment factory to prostitution
Nasima's family moved to Narayangonj when she was 6 years old. She never went to school
and started working in people's home at an early age. At the age of 14, her mother made her
take a job in a garment factory.
I am good looking, so I was not left in peace for long. I did not attract someone
of low status. Solaman supervisor spotted me. I could not escape him. He used
me three to four times a week. He graduated from kisses to. It went on for
seven months. He never paid me. He just relaxed the rule when I came late. My
token was in his hand. What could I do?
Solaman supervisor allowed her to turn up late for work but she had to satisfy his demands. To
escape from him, Nasima married a factory boy, but Solaman supervisor continued to force
sex on her. The husband divorced Nasima when he found out. Nasima's plan had failed, and
she no longer wanted to go to the factory, but her family pressured her. She could not handle
the tension anymore.
I got revolted and fed up. I decided to positively take up the work for which my
husband had divorced me. Many girls from my area are in this line, and they
helped me in the beginning. My family does not know where I am. If I had
stayed at the factory, Solaman would have continued to use me. Also, I always
feared for my reputation. Here I earn twice as much and I do this out of my free
choice.
Everyone used me and cheated me. Solaman supervisor, the boy I married and
my family who wanted my income but did not want to know about my problem
(she never told them about Solaman). I could not protest because my living and
my working place were in the same location. After I came here, I felt relieved. I
also learned to be daring.
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18
These questions are discussed in a forthcoming publication, Women Across Borders: Contested Wealth Producers, T.
Blanchet, University Press Limited, Dhaka, 2010.
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Nasima finds her present situation easier to manage and she feels more in control. With two
other girls, she rents a room. An older woman, a former prostitute, lives with them, providing
guardianship in the eyes of society.
Several girls reported sexual abuse in factories. The largest factories, which produce for well-
known international brands, have set up complaint mechanisms to control abusive male
supervisors who take liberties with female workers. But many factories do not have such a
system, and supervisors abuse with impunity. Nasima did not know where to go for assistance.
She found no worker rights organization that could help her disengage from the trap in which
she was caught. Those who offered to help were engaged in prostitution.
Case history 27. Sustaining the family in place of a brother
Rikta's father sold major assets to send his son to Malaysia to work for a company, but it was a
total failure. The money was lost and the boy returned, sick, after spending two months in jail.
Rikta, 14, had been at school, but after this crisis her father took her out of school and sent her
to work in a private home, which supplied girls for hotel prostitution.
My father made a lot of money but he spent it on himself. He could not do
anything. He put all his hope on his son. In August 2007, my brother left for
Malaysia. In November, my father placed me as a maid in a home in Gabtoli.
My salary was 500 taka. They gave father two months in advance. After 13
days, I ran away.
I fled because that man sent girls to different hotels. I fled the day he tried to
send me. We were three girls living at their home but they collected many
others. Girls came from Amin Bazar, Hemayetpur and Boilapur. There are many
brick klins there. Girls work during the day, get fresh and come for the other job
at night.
I heard that my father came to get my salary and he was told that I had fled. I
also found out that he had brought other girls to that house. He knew very well
where he had placed his own daughter.
Rikta was too angry and scared to return home. She found a job by herself in another home,
but within two months she was raped by the man of the house. She left and took another job,
as a helper in a garment factory. She worked there for six months.
I did not get peace at the factory either. My problem is my good looks. I attract
men too easily. They immediately have bad ideas.
Rikta eventually reconnected with her family. Her father was sick and died a few weeks later.
Rikta joined another factory for the modest salary of 750 taka per month. This time she made
up her mind that she would engage in prostitution and that it would provide her main income.
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My main work is sex work now. The factory is just a faade. I take a lot of
clients because I am the breadwinner of my family. My father died in July 2008.
My brother drinks and smokes ganja. He is like his father. He spends time
outside and does nothing for the family. My two little sisters are at school. My
mother knows the work I do.
In analysing her situation, Rikta does not feel at fault.
For our mishap, I blame my father and my brother, their dream of making a
fortune abroad and the place where my father introduced me when I left home.
They took all the decisions. I adjusted as I could. Before reaching where I am
now, I got hit hard a few times. That was painful. It was forced upon me. I was
inexperienced. That was a very hard time. I don't dislike what I do presently. I
get well paid, I am free and I can help my family. If I do this work, I must accept
it wholeheartedly and I must do it well.
Rikta travelled the slippery slope. She sees deliberately taking up prostitution not as a descent
into greater exploitation but as a way to stand up, given the circumstances. Now 16, she
supports the whole family with her income from prostitution.
Failed male migration stories usually do not reveal what happens to sisters and daughters.
Among the cases documented, at least one other girl took up prostitution following her father's
failed migration and the loss of family assets.
Case history 28. A move from factory floor to brothel
Shapla began working in a garment factory at the age of 15. Her father, a fruit vendor, did not
earn much, and her elder brother did not contribute to the family. A meagre salary of 800 taka
(which increased to 1,050 within six months) did not allow much comfort. In these
circumstances, the decision to take up sex work part time to complement her income, despite
never having had sex, made sense, though she did not make it without some hesitation.
The first seven months, I did only factory work but in the last four months, I do
this work also. I heard about the place (private brothel) from a work colleague
who goes there and from the floor supervisor at the factory. The first time I went,
I turned back out of fear and out of shame. Fifteen days later, I returned. I
decided I would accept. I took my courage and knowingly took up this work to
earn more. I can do overtime at the factory but it pays little, and there I could
lose my honour also. If I lost my honour at the factory, my job and my reputation
could also be damaged, but if I do it in this way, the risks are less.
Interestingly, Shapla believes that she has better control over her life and her reputation if she
serves in a private brothel than if she falls in love or otherwise becomes compromised at the
factory.
I go about four days a week for three hours at the most. I take only two to three
customers. I would not want to take more. That way, it is easier to accept and I
don't want to return home too late. The place is good. It is discrete and the
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owner behaves well with us. Customers are all kinds of ages. Work is work and
I do not choose but I prefer experienced customers to new comers. I don't
regard this as my main work. I will see later. It may become so.
Shapla does not give all her income to her parents as such a large amount would raise suspicion.
I hand over to my parents all of my factory income but only half of my income
from sex work. With this work, my income more than tripled and my family is
less hard up. If I had not worked at the factory, I would not have got that taste
for money.
The brothel owner is a 42-year-old woman who opened her business in 2007 after her career
as a sex worker ended. She is the daughter of a prostitute and her two daughters are also in
the trade. She lives in Narayangonj, the location of Tanbazar, which was the largest brothel in
the country (it was forcibly closed in July 1999). She explained her strategy for operating the
brothel:
Girls should be young, between 15 and 20. Usually, they are not married at this
age. They dream of a better life. They like to have money to spend. I can easily
convince them. I invite girls who are helpers at the factory. Their salaries are
low. Families create no problem because they are factory workers. They are
truly factory workers and they earn so little, they can hardly cover their own
needs.
The brothel owner promised the factory supervisor a commission for girls he sent to her.
Recruitment is not a problem, and she currently has 30 to 35 girls on the roster. Asked about
her interactions with NGOs, she replied:
I do not want my workers to be listed anywhere. Lists remain. It could harm the
girls. They may not carry on in this job.
The brothel owner had a good arrangement with police and local gang leaders, permitting her
to maintain the same address for two years. The girls we interviewed had not seen police
raids. They said they all engaged in prostitution 'of their own free will'. Rates are fixed, and the
girls receive 100 taka per customer, with the bill being settled the same day.
Though Shapla was not previously sexually abused, the low salary at the garment factory
renders prostitution attractive from a financial perspective. If she had not joined the factory and
had not come to expect an income, the brothel may not have tempted her, she says. Shapla is
not well informed about health risks, and the use of condoms is entirely the customer's choice.
Will Shapla be able to stay away from potential 'husbands' or 'lovers' who could cream off her
income? She does not appear to have developed strong armour, as have the girls who were
abused and kicked around.
Case history 29. Sex workers who refuse to be called 'children'
Naheen grew up in a Dhaka slum and was forced at an early age to weather risky situations
with little protection. Her mother had three children, each by a different father.
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I understood very early that I was a girl. I had a body that attracted the gaze of
men. It was difficult to stay out of danger. Our fathers disappeared soon after
our births. We, children managed alone with mother.
Naheen worked in people's homes and sold flowers and chocolate on the street. At age 13,
she got a job in a garment factory. Then her mother was hit by a car and became crippled. The
factory job did not pay enough to cover the rent, her mother's treatment and the needs of a
family of four. Naheen felt she had no choice but to enter prostitution. She did so with the help
of a distant relative.
Naheen was interviewed with four other girls, aged 14 to 16, all engaged in prostitution. The
question as to whether they were children provoked sarcasm.
We are not little anymore. We are sex workers. We were little before engaging
in this profession. Children play but we are not playing anymore. Our job is not
a game. We stopped playing to work and to earn. We are sex workers. To earn
our living, we engage in 'bad work', not play. People do not understand this.
They denigrate us. They do not see us as children either.
These girls did not want to be 'rescued'. From birth, they have occupied a lower step on the
social ladder, and there was no question of escalating up an imaginary 'slope'. They demanded
respect in the position they occupied.
We work and we eat. We do not beg. We do not want your charity. We want
your respect, nothing else.
5.4 Prostitution among Girls Living on the Street
For girls of the street, the 'slippery slope' from sexual abuse to prostitution is a direct road.
Moushumi, 14 years old, grew up on the street with her grandmother, who formerly was a sex
worker. She was told that her mother died when she was little. Currently Moushumi lives in
Suhrawardy Uddyan, a large park in the centre of Dhaka. She was first raped at the age of 9;
then she was 'used' until she took up prostitution as a profession.
A man used me when I was about 9 years old. He was a hawker selling
cigarettes in the park. The previous day, he had seen me with a boy my age
having sex games. This boy's mother also lived in the park. That man hurt me a
lot. He frightened me. He said if I spoke to anyone about what he did to me, he
would tell what I had done with that boy the previous day. I could not walk for a
few days afterwards, but I did not tell anything to nani. She was not too
interested in knowing either. After this, men used me. Some gave me 5 or 10
taka. It was not so painful.
I began soliciting customers two years ago. Nani taught me what I needed to
know. I work at night. Nani is too old to work now, she begs for a living. She
entrusts our savings with a shopkeeper and makes plans for my future. We will
buy land, I will marry and settle in nani's village. There is a boy I like but nani
forbade me to give him any money.
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Moushumi has dreams that her grandmother encourages. She knows about NGO programmes
to help girls like herself and she meets NGO workers when they visit the park. She has been
invited to visit the drop-in centre but has never done so. When she got a STI, her grandmother
took her to the Marie Stopes clinic for treatment. Moushumi keeps her belongings in a box in
the park. She does not appear to be addicted to drugs. She speaks of her grandmother as a
source of emotional stability. The park, which has been used for prostitution for many years, is
said to be a less harsh environment than other places (such as Gulistan, in Dhaka) with drug
addicts and more violence.
5.4.1 'Marriage' for protection on the street
Sexual violence against girls is undoubtedly worst on the streets. The police or men in uniform
are regularly pointed out as among the worst abusers. A boy who has been living at Kamlapur
railway station for about 10 years said:
Among the girls who have been here for some time, you will not find one that
has not been abused by the Railway Police without pay. They are government
people. They are powerful. They seek the new girls to be protected from
disease. New girls as young as 9 or 10 - they want them.
Girls arriving at Kamlapur railway station typically are raped within a few days of their arrival.
They are used by boys and develop regular relationships with 'husbands' who also exploit
them. Three types of arrangements were observed:
In the first, older boys take newly arrived girls under their wing and keep them as 'wives'. The
girl feels valued, especially if the 'husband' is a gang leader. One such boy is Arif, about 22,
whose 'wife' is 12-year-old Sathi. He spotted her soon after she arrived and helped her get
admitted into an NGO shelter home. They meet outside each day. As the 'wife' of a gang
leader, Sathi is not disturbed by other boys. When Arif tires of a relationship, he spits at the girl
(his words) and throws her to the street. No longer protected, she is everyone's prey. Arif
claims to be a great protector of street girls.
The second type of arrangement involves pimp 'husbands' and older prostitutes forming
relationships with girls of 13 to 15 years old, 'owning' them and appropriating their entire
income. Such relationships depend on psychological manipulation, threats and delusion, and
they tend to be unstable.
In a third scenario, girls themselves choose a 'husband' or guardian to whom they remit a
percentage of their earnings, keeping the largest part for themselves.
5.4.2 Solidarity among sex workers
Case history 30. 'Floating water hyacinths that came together'
Aisha came to Dhaka at the age of 7 and worked in a home. Her father visited her once in two
years. At the age of 9, she stole 500 taka from the employer and ran away, ending up at
Kamlapur station. Now 15 years old, her memory is so full of abuses that she tends to collapse
numerous events together.
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I have been on the street for six years. I got cheated. I got spoiled and I found a
way to survive. I became a prostitute one and a half years ago. Before, I tried to
earn differently but if so many people wanted to use me, I decided I would sell
myself. I loved boys. I married and I got nothing out of it. Now, I act out love. I
take. I do not give anymore.
Before I took up this job, I was spoiled many times. The first time, it was by two
senior boys who spoiled me one after the other. I was 10 years old. That was
very painful. They hurt me and gave me nothing. Many others used me. Some
offered biriyani or hair clips afterward.
When Aisha was 13, a sex worker spotted her at Kamlapur station and said, "If you stay here,
it will kill you." Aisha followed the woman to her home, and within two months she was
convinced to take up prostitution. She was taught how to groom herself and attract customers
who would pay well. Aisha worked and the older woman kept the money. Aisha understood she
was being used, and she left within four months. Then she realized she was pregnant. An
older woman, a former prostitute, helped her get an abortion while another sex worker, about
16 years old, lent her 5,000 taka to cover her expenses until Aisha could resume work and
reimburse her.
We were all floating and this is how we got together, just like water hyacinth.
Isolated plants that join together, that is what we are. There are three of us plus
Asiya. We call Asiya 'auntie' and we regard her as our guardian. Asiya is old
now and she is not in good health. She has no children to look after her. We live
in Kamrangirchor and the three of us pay the rent. We also share food costs,
and we give Asiya money for her treatment, her clothes and other costs. We
keep our money with her. We trust her.
Aisha earns 8,000 to 10,000 taka per month but says she is unable to save. Asked about her
relationship with NGOs, she declared:
NGOs come to us. They ask questions. We reply with our own words. We live
by our own wits. NGOs inhabit a different world.
Aisha found companionship and some solidarity with girls/women who are, or have been, in
the same line of work. She considers her present situation relatively better than before.
For girls living on the street, the turning point into prostitution comes some time after being
sexually abused. Girls engage in prostitution when they can negotiate the sale of their services
with customers. Before this, they are 'taken' and used, receiving nothing or only small gifts
such as hair clips or a plate of rice; they do not actively solicit customers.
As prostitutes, girls say they realize they have value because they can demand a price instead
of being 'taken', instead of 'loving' and 'giving'. In ancient Greece, it is reported that a prostitute
could not be a slave; she had to be a free woman to engage in a contractual relationship.
Here, girls are saying that to endorse prostitution as a profession, they must be capable of
negotiating and they must know they have value. Even when the proceeds of the sale are
appropriated by someone else - a khala, a husband or a lover - the realization that one has
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value develops, leading to attempts to break away from the exploitive relationship.
The literature and the programmes that collapse sexual abuse with commercial sexual
exploitation do not recognize this important passage, when girls actively take up prostitution.
The adoption of the profession requires a change of ethos and the building of armour (no tears
anymore). This ethos of bravery does not accord with that of victim. Reaching out to these girls
with a vocabulary of victimization addressed to children is repellant to them and clearly does
not work.
5.5 Services for Girls on the Street
In the past 15 years, shelter homes and drop-in centres operated by governmental and non-
governmental organizations have changed the landscape for many girls and boys living on the
street. Even though many cannot stay for long, they receive some comfort for a period of time.
Each centre has its target population: girls, boys, girls and boys, people living on the street,
sex workers or children of sex workers.
Shelter homes and drop-in centres offer the opportunity to bathe, eat, rest, keep belongings
safely, save money, interact with social workers and receive health care. The services can be
life-saving, and they also offer dignity and respect. They allow children and adolescents to
express themselves, participate in discussions and get involved in decision-making. Some who
resided in shelter homes have been able to pursue studies and receive training for a trade.
The turnover is high, and many girls, intoxicated with the 'freedom' of the street, are incapable
of adjusting to a structured environment. Even if many do not use these accommodations, or
do not use them for long, these centres make a positive difference.
The NGOs operating these services have different philosophies and mandates. Those aiming
to reach 'sexually exploited children' are committed to work for their rescue, rehabilitation and
reintegration, which, though not explicitly stated, entails giving up prostitution. Others provide
services to sex workers (mostly aimed at prevention of HIV/AIDS) and do not encourage them
to leave the profession; these typically focus on people at least 18 years old. Yet it is clear that
on the 'ground' the distinctions between 'children' and 'adults' are not clear cut.
NGOs also must adapt to the criteria of their donors. In interviews, some project managers
admitted the contradictions with which they juggled. Others carefully reflected the views of their
donors while their outreach workers functioned according to their understanding of needs on
the ground.
Protecting children and adolescents from sexual abuse requires a broad-based and cross-
sectoral approach rather than narrowly defined vertical programmes. Thus, the success of
projects dealing with girls of the street should not be judged solely based on one criterion, that
is, the number rescued from prostitution. To be offered a bath, a place to rest and cook food, to
be treated when sick, to be able to lead a decent life are achievements in themselves. To be
treated with dignity and respect may be what 'children' appreciate most.
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5.6 Boys in Prostitution
Inadequate as it is, the field work allows us to bring up the issue of male prostitution. As for
girls, it is not a uniform experience, and the case below shows only one facet of the
occupation.
Case history 31. Serving the 'school boy' market
Babu, a 15-year-old sex worker, was met in Narayangonj through a hawker roughly the same
age named Hiron. Hiron came from Munshigonj at the age of 9, brought by an ex-prostitute (he
calls khala, or auntie). Hiron still remits a good part of his income to his mother or his khala.
He first worked in a restaurant, where he was sexually abused by older co-workers. He then
worked in a boarding house where he got solicited for sex but refused. He said that after the
age of 11, no one could get him by force or deceit.
Hiron changed jobs several times. As a helper in the boarding house, one of his duties was to
bring female 'guests' for customers. The manager sent him to different addresses and Hiron
collected much information, which he put to good use. Now about 15 years old, Hiron is a
cigarette vendor, but his main income is from the sex business. His youth attracts young
customers.
Most of my customers are school boys. There is a high demand for little girls
but the supply is low. The youngest girls do not stay long. They run away
because they don't get paid as promised. I also know boys who sell sex. One is
my age. He takes 50-100 taka. School boys go to him.
Hiron introduced the interviewer to Babu, from Madaripur, who rents a room in the slum with
four other boys who work as hawkers and rag pickers.
If people pay me, I allow them to use me. I came here with my mother when I
was little. My mother works in homes. She massages women. My elder sister is
with her. They live where they work. When they both work, they earn very well.
Asked how he got involved in this work, Babu replied:
One mama (maternal uncle) first did this to me. It was very painful. I hated it the
first time. Now, I do not mind. I get money. It is a job. My uncle opened the
passage for others. Hawkers, school children, boat people, they all come to me.
When his uncle had anal sex with him at the age of 11, Babu had no notion of sexual abuse.
He now interprets this act as preparation for a later occupation. Brothel women spoke the
same way about their initiation at an early age. Painful as it was, it was interpreted as a
necessary passage. One of Babu's customers is a 15-year-old schoolboy. Briefly interviewed,
the young client expained how he started paying for sex.
A friend of mine took me to Babu. I had a problem with shopno dosh
(involuntary ejaculation) and I needed help. Babu explained what I should do. I
give him 50, sometimes 100 taka. I do this with my pocket money once or twice
a month when I need it.
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When asked why he did not go to a girl, the adolescent replied that he was afraid of girls. He
watched intercourse between man and woman on a video projected on a computer screen. He
wanted to do this also but he enjoyed it with Babu. Seeing his hesitation and his fear of
women, Hiron referred him to a boy prostitute. As a hawker, Hiron evidently plays an important
role in directing schoolboys to male or female sex workers.
5.6.1 The difficulty of identifying boy prostitutes
If one excludes hijra
19
who project a strong image of their identity (neither man nor woman,
they say) and are highly visible, boys who take money for sex may not be readily identified as
prostitutes. In field work undertaken in 1998-1999 in Chittagong, it was found that boys who
earned from sexual services did not fix a price with their client beforehand and interpreted
what they received as a gift for a favour rather than a fee for service. They generally spent
longer than girl prostitutes with customers, played games and often shared a meal. Boys could
be taken to men's lodging without raising suspicion. Important regional differences were noted,
in traditions and in vocabularies.
20
In Chittagong, adolescent boys were met who had left their village for the port city because of
their sexuality. They had found jobs in catering, and at night they went cruising and selling sex.
These boys were effeminate in manner but dressed as men, at least when they were not
cruising. It is hard to know how many street boys engaging in the sex trade are troubled about
their sexual identity. In trying to understand what pushes children to the street, the tendency
has been to focus on poverty and victimization. Sexual identity has not been explored, and
there is a tendency to shy away from questions of sexuality generally.
5.6.2 Caution in reaching out to underage boy and girl prostitutes
NGOs that reach out to boy prostitutes and provide services to those below 18 face the same
problem as for girls. The director of Bandhu, an organization catering for men who have sex
with men, recognizes the problem.
Many boys come to Bandhu. They do not want to be identified as 'koti' (boys
who play the female role) but many have STIs and suffer anal problems. We
give them medical treatment but we cannot keep records on them because they
are below the age of 18. Many of these boys are afraid to expose their sexuality
and sexual orientation. We help them as best as we can but we have to be
cautious because mainstream society could accuse us of promoting
homosexuality.
We know that many of these boys are sexually abused and/or are involved in
the trade to survive but we cannot do much for them.
Adolescence is a period of turmoil. For boys engaged in prostitution, shame, fear and
confusion regarding their sexual orientation could be additional causes of anxiety. Sources of
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19
Individuals who were born male in appearance but identify as female, and who may be hermaphroditic or castrated but are not
necessarily so. They form a society of their own. Unlike transvestites, hijras do not marry and forsake memebership in
mainstream society.
20
The research, never published, was conducted with the assistance of Hannan Biswas and Monzur Hasan Dabu, members of
the Drishti Research Centre.
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support during this difficult passage are not available. Those catering for men who have sex
with men generally lack the resources and the mandate to provide such support.
Durjoy, an NGO formed by prostitutes, acknowledges being caught in the same dilemma with
girls. The director of the drop-in centre in Cox's Bazar estimates that girls below 18 constitute
about half of those who visit the centre. Medical services are provided to them without
recording their age. The NGO is not mandated to assist under-18 sex workers, and in fact
such a category should not exist. It is hoped that spending time at the centre may hasten the
girls' realization that they are exploited.
These situations demonstrate a problem with populations targeted and services offered. Young
sex workers occupy a no-man's land. They should not be in this work. NGOs offering services
to them fear being caught.
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CHAPTER 6. YOUNG CLIENTS OF
PROSTITUTES
6.1 An Introduction to Manhood
Studies of sexual abuse mostly focus on victims, often ignoring perpetrators and offering
limited analysis of the contexts and the institutions that frame, allow and regulate behaviour.
The same applies to sex workers, who receive more attention than clients. This chapter
focuses on clients not yet 18 years of age. Again, the sample is small but raises pertinent
questions on this clientele.
The youngest buyers of sex services identified were 12- or 13-year-old boys living on the
street who went to prostitutes old enough to be their mothers. "I sometimes turn them away. I
tell them they are too young but they insist," said a 40-year-old prostitute working at Kamlapur
station. A visit to a prostitute often constitutes boys' initiation into heterosexuality and
manhood.
Case history 32. Celebrating secondary school certificate in the brothel
Four boys aged 16 to 17 visited Daulotdia brothel to celebrate the completion of their
secondary school certificate exams. Although their town has a brothel, they chose to go to a
distant one so as not to be recognized. A boy who claimed to have visited the brothel before
led the others. He talked to a girl "good looking but cheap" (his words) and negotiated a price
for the group. Three boys went to the same girl; the fourth lost his courage and did not enter
her room. His friends mocked him, saying he was a magi (low-class woman), not a man. The
boy had also failed his Secondary School Certificate exam, and not going to a prostitute
added to his poor performance as a man.
Those who had sex reported using condoms. They all knew about the risks of HIV/AIDS and
regarded this protection as necessary. Confirmation of manhood is here achieved in a group
and with a remarkable uniformity of behaviour: going to the same prostitute for the same
duration of time, the same fee and the same tip to manifest appreciation. Group sex is a fairly
typical behaviour of adolescent boys, the research discovered.
Fieldwork was also conducted among truck helpers in Dhaka. Boys who grow up among
transport workers generally learn to visit prostitutes from an early age. The boys who were
interviewed came from poor families and had little education. They spent most of their time in
the work environment and shared camaraderie with their workmates. They preferred young
girls but were often unable to obtain them because young prostitutes are in high demand and
more costly.
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Case history 33. A 17-year-old truck helper 'addicted' to prostitutes
Bilal studied in a madrassah where he was regularly punished for not learning his lessons.
Father used to say this punishment was for my own good. In the end, I could
not take it anymore so I ran away from home at 11 and came to Dhaka. I first
got work at a wholesale fish market bringing water to the vendors, for which I
got paid 30-40 taka a day. At night, I slept at the market. When there was no
work, I explored the area. In this way, I met bus helpers in Gabtoli and got
acquainted with a truck driver who employed me. I met other boys who had
been working there since they were little and I learned their habits.
I did not meet girls much in my village and when I met one in Dhaka, I just
wanted to grab her. I watched girls on screen at the cinema. Going to whores is
now my addiction. I had sex with little girls and 40-year-old women. My income
is spent on this passion.
As a child, Bilal did not play with girls and did not learn to converse with them. He went to an
all-male madrassah that enforced strict separation of the sexes. In Dhaka, he continued to live
in an all-male environment, and the only girls he interacts with are the prostitutes he pays for.
For Bilal, a prostitute is a prostitute no matter how young she is.
Once I had sex with a girl. She was from a good family, you could tell. She said
she had come to visit from Sirajgonj with an auntie and had been left with a
woman at the bus stand, taken to a house and forced to lay with two old men.
I only had sex in my mind. I could not listen to her story. I said that I would listen
later but she had to let me do my work first. These girls tell us these stories to
get more money. You can't believe them. We earn through our hard work. We
go to them to get a little pleasure. It's annoying to hear stories like that.
Even when circumstances could lead Bilal to rethink his characterization of prostitutes, he
continued to dehumanize them. It seems that his pleasure required this.
I can never imagine that my mother or my sister could ever do such work.
Whores are whores from birth. They are a special breed. They are hot. They
need sex. We pay them. We want pleasure. If we think too much, we will be
huzur.
Bilal expresses an opinion shared by many of his workmates. It is his right to have sex. He has
money and he is free, and he does not want to be a holy man. He says that he goes to
prostitutes five or six times a month and spends a third of his salary on them. He has few
possessions and does not live in luxury. His mobile phone is his precious companion, used to
listen to music and look at pornographic pictures more than for phone calls.
Bilal did not visit his family once in six years; his workmates are his family. Bilal migrated alone
to the city at the age of 11 but, unusually, did not drift to the street. Through his own effort, he
got recruited as a helper and now earns a reasonably good income (6,000 taka per month).
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Case history 34. Boys in a group do not fear women
Saju is a 16-year-old truck helper. He came to Dhaka in 2003 with his elder brother, also a
truck driver. He does not like visiting his family.
I go home twice a year. I don't like it; too much poverty. Even on Eid day, there
is no good food. I did not go home for Eid the last two years. It is too
depressing.
Saju started working at the age of 10 when his brother recommended him to another truck
driver. Saju learned much from his employer, whom he describes as a good man but for one
bad habit: he likes to have sex with boys.
When he sees tall, good-looking, light-skinned boys, he goes crazy. He does not
stay home much but when he goes he takes a young boy with him and pays him
good money. So many boys, ustad took with him...
Saju's physique did not attract his ustad, so he has been a mere spectator to the latter's
passion for boys. Saju learned to drink and to smoke. His ustad told him that money earned on
extra work should be spent for enjoyment. He never touched heroin or marijuana as he saw
the damage these drugs could do. Saju is content with his life, the camaraderie he shares with
the other helpers, the meat he can afford to eat and, when he has money, the sex he can buy
from prostitutes. Asked about his preference, he replied crudely:
I have no preference. I am happy with what I get. What do I care about their
features? I will not marry them.
Saju usually practices group sex. Several boys hire a prostitute and bring her to their place. In
a group, boys do not fear women:
When they want more money than the agreed price, boys beat them up and
leave without paying. We can beat them up. We live here. We are local and they
are moving around. With us, they cannot play foul.
He was 14 years old the first time he had sex with a prostitute.
Her name was Akhi. My friends usually went to her. She is not so young but
everybody calls her 'tui'.
21
She has no specific work place. She works in trucks,
in boats, at the brickfield, in homes.
Like most truck helpers met, Saju does not like to use condoms, but he meets sex workers
who insist on their use and sometimes he has to comply. Saju has very conservative views on
women and kept drawing the caricature of the prostitute (using a disparaging word), who works
for money, and the chaste wife, who stays home - despising the one, idealizing the other. He
holds that a prostitute cannot be raped since she is already noshto.
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21
'Tui' is a familiar form of address, which in this context is clearly condescending, as the prostitute is older than the boys who
contract her.
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A good man will never send his women to work. Work means earning money.
People who work and earn always want more and that is how they become
'bad'. Girls who do 'bad' work cannot be someone's wife, sister or mother.
These girls have no religion. They only know about money.
Though these clichs are common, such arrested views in such a young boy are alarming.
Programmes devised to combat HIV/AIDS pay attention to the risky sexual behaviour of
transport workers but do not consider adolescent boys among them. The male youth culture
these boys manifest, their early use of prostitutes, their derogatory treatment of them, and the
risks they take in relation to HIV/AIDS are matters of concern.
Case history 35. A private brothel catering to young customers
Sixteen-year-old Afzal works in a hair saloon in a suburb of Dhaka. He earns 3,000 taka per
month, half of which he gives to his brother for his keep. Six months ago, an older woman who
regularly visited the saloon invited him to her home.
One woman used to bring us lunch.We called her Beti. She had a good
relationship with our boss. Six months ago, she invited me to her place. She knew
that saloon boys earn quite good salaries. There were tin sheds opened at the
back and three girls, good looking and well made up, stood there. Beti asked: "Will
you not marry? That thing you get in marriage, I can offer you here." I said, "What
is this thing?" She replied, "Something you need very much at your age to remain
healthy."
I took the opportunity and I liked it a lot. Beti told me to come again and to bring
my friends. She wanted young boys and told me not to give her address to older
men. I went quite a few times and took friends. She served us food as well. Now,
she has moved. She gave me her phone number. I may go to her new place.
The friendly approach, the family-like atmosphere, the reference to marriage (not to name
sex), the offering of food, all was geared to create a non-threatening environment for boys
going for their first sexual experience. Again, the brothel owner exploits the popular belief that
involuntary ejaculation (shopno dosh) is damaging to health and promises a most enjoyable
'treatment'. It is not clear why this brothel owner specializes in service to young customers. It
could be to avoid the police. Illegal brothels are known not to stay long in one place; the
owners move on as soon as they fear exposure. Afzal did not use condoms and seems totally
unaware of health risks. In the homely atmosphere where everything seemed safe, there were
no posters, no condoms to remind clients of HIV/AIDS.
Case history 36. Boys made to participate in crime and prostitution on behalf of
adults
Some working boys have been associated with prostitution and crime through their employers
and sometimes have been offered the crumbs of a rich table. Razu is a 17-year-old van puller
living in a shack near Chittagong railway station. He ran away from home at the age of 9. At
11, he attended the drop-in centre of an NGO and has good memories of the time spent there.
At 15, he was asked to leave because he did not abide by the rules. His sex life is what he can
afford.
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We go to girls in a group. There are no little or big girls among the poor. They
all need to eat. With 100 taka to spend, I satisfy my hunger and so does she
hers.
Razu, who shares social proximity with girls on the street, does not refer to prostitutes as a
special caste. All need to eat, he says, and there is no moralizing on how one earns a living.
He himself works for a dubious business and is sometimes asked by his employer to transport
stolen goods.
Elder brother is a rickshaw and a van owner during the day. At night, he
supplies women to Rapid Action Battalion, to the police and to his friends. We
don't go there. These girls are not within our budget.
The girls stay at his place four to five days. Elder brother promises them jobs,
but they have to provide this service first. He supplies the girls to hotels and he
accommodates his friends. They all come wearing burqas, so I could never see
their face.
Razu peeped through and caught sight of a disturbing commerce to which he was not invited.
He hinted at girls not being willing, heard them protest and cry, but it was not his business to
interfere.
Case history 37. "My ustad let me use them"
Fifteen-year-old Mintu works as a garage helper. At 12, his father brought him to Dhaka and
placed him with a tea stall owner. The father came back to collect Mintu's salary but otherwise
showed little interest in his son's life. The employer conducted several businesses under the
counter. In one of these he served as a manpower agent for those seeking to go abroad. As
these people came to inquire about the progress of their cases, Mintu had to deal with them,
as the owner seldom appeared. Mintu was also made to sell drugs (phensydil and marijuana)
and was sometimes called to assist in the private brothel his employer ran. Mintu was initiated
early into a range of activities, including 'testing' young girls.
In a nearby lane, my employer had a flat where he kept his wife, two sisters-in-
law and two maids. All kinds of people visited: RAB, mastaan, police. There, I
saw girls my age. I saw 12- to 15-year-old maids who did not stay for long.
Where they went afterwards, I do not know.
My employer let me use them sometimes. He would say: "Your girl friend has
come." He wanted the girls to relax and lose their fear with a boy their age.
Some of the girls were accustomed to this and did not protest. Others objected
and fought back. I still have the marks of two girls who bit me. They would have
killed me if they could.
Then the police arrested the employer and shut down all his businesses, and Mintu had no
place to go. He knocked at the door of a garage owner who used to visit his tea stall and was
recruited as a helper. Mintu cannot afford to visit prostitutes anymore but for one year, he
bathed in the 'power' of his criminal employer, an experience that blunted his sense of right
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and wrong. The risk of boys of the street being dragged into crime is well known, but Mintu
was not such a boy, nor was he an orphan, but his father was not concerned with protecting
him; he was only interested in collecting his salary. His employer used Mintu's innocence and
youth to cover up his criminal activities. The arrest of his employer did not result from child
protection efforts but was linked to the fall of a government.
22
Mintu was removed from a
criminal environment only by chance.
6.2 Boy Clients of Prostitutes: Perpetrators or Victims?
Should these adolescent boys be considered perpetrators of sexual abuse? Should they be
seen as the mere product of a socialization process into manhood? Or should they be
considered victims because they are children and lack protection? To begin to answer these
questions, one may quote O'Connell Davidson, who writes that it is dangerous "to abstract
people's practices as sex buyers from the more general sexual cultures in which they exist
because once the problem is reduced to questions of individual morality, it is all too easy for
those who may not use prostitutes, but who are none the less complicit with the daily
maintenance and generational reproduction of profoundly oppressive sexual culture, to wriggle
off the hood." One can only agree with this statement.
The case histories presented here show that most boys carried as a trophy their first encounter
with a prostitute. They found their pleasure and were inclined to repeat it. The age of the girl is
a matter of availability and preference, but they saw no bar on using a very young girl. In any
case, prostitutes, having lost their innocence, are not perceived as children anymore. The 12-
year-old boy sent by his employer to tame and break in girls his age did not feel victimized and
was not coerced. To the contrary, he enjoyed borrowing adult power to subjugate young girls.
He fought them knowing he would always win as he was a mere extension of his employer.
Fifteen- and 16-year-old truck helpers see the use of prostitutes as a right since they work and
have money to pay for them. Some perceive this right as a license to abuse. There were hints
of boys beating up prostitutes or refusing to pay them when a disagreement arose. This could
happen when more boys than the number agreed use a prostitute and the boys refuse to pay
more. Girls working as prostitutes echoed these accounts. They said that group sex with
adolescent youths was particularly dangerous. If the contract is not respected, they cannot
protest, and if they do they are easily overpowered. Not paying is obviously an abuse and
denigrating sex workers is violence.
While some boy clients could be perpetrators of abuse, adolescents do not all have the same
attitude. We have seen that Razu, the van puller, did not judge the girls he contracted as being
beneath him. He did not despise them and saw little difference betwen his predicament and
theirs: they all needed to work in order to eat. He accepted that providing sex was their way to
earn. Interestingly, none of the boys saw a 'child' in the prostitutes they visited, a point well
made by O'Connell Davidson in her research elsewhere.
23
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22
The employer was arrested on 28 December 2007.
23
She interviewed 185 men in 5 countries (India, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Thailand) and observed that customers generally do
not see a 'child' when they go to a prostitute. Her research found that "although clients attached sexual value to youthful
bodies, they did not wish to buy sex from prostitutes they perceived as too young to consent to sexual encounterWhen such
clients pick out underage prostitutes, it is generally on the basis of price, availability, physical appearance, demeanor, working
style, and so on, not on the basis that s/he is a minor." (O'Connell Davidson, 2005; p.118)
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 31/03/2011 2 3 34
While adolescent boys using prostitutes boast of their privilege and pleasure, it is a costly
pleasure, as boys who earn reasonably well are targeted by third parties seeking to profit from
them. They also face health risks. Apart from boys who had graduated from secondary school,
condoms were used as little as possible, exposing them to HIV/AIDS and other. Finally, use of
prostitutes deprives boys of a more humanized sexuality. Living in an all-male environment,
many have little opportunity to socialize with girls, and most shy away from relationships with
girls, which they consider too risky. They meet prostitutes instead, until they marry a 'pure' girl.
The separation of girls into the categories of 'pure' and 'spoiled' (noshto) stands firm. Boys
learn to need them both, and these needs create 'whores' and 'wives'. This socialization is
achieved remarkably early.
In Bangladesh, a law regulates the minimum age at which girls may enter the brothel and take
up prostitution, but no law regulates the minimum age at which boys may go to prostitutes.
Clearly, use of prostitutes by boys is not seen as a social problem. Such a law would be
difficult to implement in any case. However, an increase in the number of customers can only
push up the demand for prostitutes, thereby augmenting the number of young girls led to this
activity. Combatting the sexual abuse of those under 18 becomes very difficult in these
circumstances. The consequences of this state of affairs for society as a whole should be
realized.
It is a goal of this report to link the supply of sexual services (addressed in chapter 5) and the
demand (chapter 6) as two sides of the same coin and to demonstrate that 'children' are major
actors on both sides. The discussion has shown that child and adolescent sexual abuse
cannot be seriously tackled without challenging values, which are deeply ingrained in the
structure of society, organizing concepts of gender and sexuality.
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PART THREE: ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION
CHAPTER 7. REVIEW OF NATIONAL PLAN
OF ACTION 2002
24
The National Plan of Action 2002 is a broad based, well structured and clearly written
document. It identifies issues, objectives, strategies and partners in prevention, protection,
recovery and reintegration of child victims of sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and
trafficking. It addresses child participation, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and perpetrators. It
recommends coordination and monitoring and includes a section on perpetrators. The text
generally demonstrates foresight and vision. While several strategies could have been more
detailed in relation to the population targeted, the NPA has inspired and given direction to
many initiatives.
The text remains a valid reference, and several issues and objectives are still highly relevant.
Implementation of some strategies is in progress; others have not begun but should be
initiated. A few strategies were found to be inappropriate for the country context. Some
amalgamations and oversights also need to be corrected and priorities more clearly specified.
7.1 General Comments
7.1.1 Conflating of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking
It should be reiterated that the repeated bundling of sexual abuse, commercial sexual
exploitation and trafficking (which appears 25 times in the text) does not reflect the important
differences between types of abuse, contexts and affected populations. The links (or their
absence) between situtations are not made visible and therefore cannot be questioned.
Combining different populations, situations and institutions is enormously confusing and
provides no foundation for tackling issues. Such a conflation could even be damaging when it
aligns policies based on a socially non-specific global child-victim not grounded in reality.
Though it is not explicitly stated, the strategies proposed are often intended for children living
on the street or in brothels, reflecting NGO experiences in these domains. The NPA neglects
the sexual abuse of girls and boys who are not on the street or in a brothel and who will never
engage in prostitution - which is the vast majority of abused children.
For example, one preventive strategy (Serial 3)
25
advocates basic education and life training
skills to address sexual abuse/exploitation/trafficking. This may be valid for children deprived of
education but not for those in school. It is a myth that education prevents sexual abuse;
students are also victims of rape, and educated girls and boys may also engage in prostitution.
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24
This chapter comments on the issues and strategies as listed in the National Plan of Action 2002 and summarizes
implementation to date. To facilitate reference to the original text, issues are similarly numbered. In some cases, the discussion
supposes that the NPA 2002 is familiar or can be readily consulted.
25
The National Plan of Action gives a serial number (SL) to each issue, each of which has a corresponding objective, strategies
and partners. These are given to facilitate reference.
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Similarly, another prevention strategy (Serial 8) says that the widespread but illegal practice of
child marriage facilitates children's "sexual abuse/exploitation and trafficking". Underage girls
may suffer sexual abuse within marriage, but no data exist showing that such a path leads to
prostitution or trafficking. Once more, the text conflates perpetrators, rapists, customers of
prostitutes, traffickers and husbands of little girls, which is not helpful.
7.1.2 Insufficient attention to sex and gender
The NPA mostly refers to a sex-neutral 'child'. A critical analysis of gender constructions is
missing, which leads to a failure to address discrepancies and contradictions between individual
child rights and notions of public morality in which girls bear the brunt of punishment for failing
to safeguard their purity and honour. It is not enough to recognize 'gender' in theory. The
gender dimension should be woven into the definition of issues and strategies, and this requires
taking into account the sex and gender identities of children. The discussion in Parts One and
Two shows the very different meanings given to the sexual abuse of girls and boys and
demonstrates that these are not peripheral issues but stand at the core of gender constructions.
Prevalent gender constructions raise major problems for the realization of child rights.
7.1.3 Narrow focus on children on the street and in brothels
Although the NPA espouses a large vision in some respects, it is narrow in others. Its working
definition of 'child sexual exploitation' specifically mentions street-based and brothel-based
prostitution (p. 11). Though this is an area in which NGOs have invested much of their efforts,
it is not sufficient as a working definition in an NPA; the definition should cover all aspects of
child sexual exploitation, recognizing the difficulties in doing so, given the dearth of data and
the weakness of social science research in Bangladesh.
7.1.4 Failure to include parents as partners
The NPA lists many relevant partners, including ministries, NGOs, teachers, religious leaders,
community leaders, refugees, children with disabilities and Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. But it
does not include parents among the partners in prevention, protection or reintegration efforts.
Parents are mentioned only once in Prevention, Serial 2, Strategy 3. The oversight may reflect
the experience of organizations working with children living on the street or in brothels and
trafficked children whose parents are absent or irresponsible. But ignoring parents in a national
plan is not a good strategy. The CRC accords a central role to parents, and the case histories
presented in Part Two demonstrate the key role of parents, especially mothers, so it is
fundamental to include them in the NPA and develop mechanism to reach them.
7.2 Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
In the text of the NPA, prevention comprises 10 issues and objectives and 52 strategies.
7.2.1 Issue 1: Children's lack of knowledge/awareness regarding their rights and
the risks relating to abuse/exploitation/trafficking and those associated with certain
adolescent behaviours
Comment: This issue is of foremost importance. Modules on child rights have been developed
by several NGOs, both before and after development of the NPA in 2002. More material has
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been developed on prevention of trafficking than on the risk of sexual abuse. At first, the typical
'trafficker' was seen as a villain and an outsider to the community. This portrayal has evolved
as it became clear that most victims knew their abusers, who often dwelled in their familiar
environment.
Sexual abuse within home and family remains a difficult and sensitive subject, which is
insufficiently addressed.
Girls are generally made aware early of the risks of getting 'spoiled' but receive much less
information about their rights. The material produced by NGOs somewhat corrects the
emphasis on 'don't', but in practice girls are confronted with restrictions more than with
encouragement to positively demand rights.
We found little material specifically addressing the sexual abuse of boys, which is a well-kept
secret. Although the practice is rampant, many boys as well as parents and guardians are
unaware of the risk.
In the curricula of formal schools, human reproduction, HIV/AIDS and personal hygiene (for
girls) are taught in a medical language that is not child friendly. The curricula do not address
sexuality, sex/gender identities, desire and respect for self and others - all issues that can be
particularly worrisome for adolescents. The field investigation showed that many teachers feel
uncomfortable with these topics and are not prepared to broach them in the classroom.
A 2006 survey of 700 teachers found that a majority favoured including sexual education in the
curriculum. The topic is to be included in teacher training programmes at the Primary Training
Institute and the Teachers' Training College. Considering teachers' discomfort in broaching the
subject, significant investment will be needed in preparing the curriculum and training the
teachers.
Informal learning centres already cover child rights and sexual abuse and exploitation. Children
of the street are better informed on these subjects than students in formal schools.
Few schools are creating opportunities for children to discuss child rights, risk of sexual abuse
and how to protect themselves. NGO schools and those participating in the Kishori Abhijan
project address these issues to some extent.
7.2.2 Issue 2: Low level of societal awareness on child rights and the sexual
abuse/exploitation/trafficking of children
Comment: These are seen as global issues, and awareness campaigns, generously funded by
NGOs, have mostly addressed the risks of child trafficking. National campaigns have been
conducted to prevent the abuse of some children, such as domestic workers. But many
aspects of child rights and locations of abuse remain unaddressed. No campaigns have
addressed the common belief that boys cannot be raped or worked to increase societal
awareness of sexual abuse as a problem within families and in all classes of society.
Two NGOs (Breaking the Silence and DISA) work in schools, inviting parents to discuss these
questions and how they can best protect their children and make them aware of their rights to
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help them protect themselves. They warn parents to be attentive to signs of distress and
encourage them to be receptive when their children attempt to confide in them. Parents here
means mothers, as fathers are largely absent from these meetings, although they are invited.
These efforts have been small scale, mostly in urban areas, and it has been difficult to extend
them further. Students generally appreciate the messages they receive. However, many,
especially girls in rural areas, said these are unrealistic and cannot apply to the context of their
lives. Again, it must be underlined that the NPA does not mention parents as partners on this
issue.
Training of staff in organizations/institutions serving children is an important strategy
adequately addressed in the NPA. However, more needs to be done, as such training is not
being provided systematically.
Apart from employers of domestic workers, orientation/training for employers of children is
unheard of. Employers in small and large industries appear largely unaware or indifferent to
the rights of children. The law may declare child work to be illegal, but children are still
working, as the law is not applied. Protection from sexual abuse should be tackled with some
urgency as a specific problem.
Magistrates, lawyers and law enforcement agencies have received training, mostly on child
trafficking. Near brothels, public notaries have been asked by NGOs not to provide affidavits
(by which a girl officially declares that she is at least 18 years old and freely engages in
prostitution) unless they see the girl and can vouch that she is of legal age. The Police Reform
Project under the United Nations Development Programme has included training on child
rights, sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation. It reaches sub-inspector level but does not
cover the entire police force. Men in uniform are not systematically reached. This is a serious
limitation. Street children identify 'men in uniform' as the worst abusers and all should be
taught about child rights, regardless of their rank. Law enforcement agencies should clarify and
enforce a code of ethics applying to all their members in the discharge of their duties.
7.2.3 Issue 3: Ensuring that all children have access to quality basic education;
and Issue 4: Increasing non-agricultural livelihood options for vulnerable
adolescents
Comment: Although it is not stated, the strategies in the NPA under these two isssues are
clearly addressed to children of the street who are not in school. Such strategies have been
promoted by NGOs for some time, with mixed results. They address sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation under the assumption that these problems are more likely to occur among the
poor.
Life skills training has had only a marginal impact in protecting children from sexual abuse and
exploitation. The term is used to cover diverse activities from the most traditional and gender
stereotyped to the most innovative. A few NGOs have been particularly attentive to the needs
of their target group, offering useful training such as negotiating skills.
This section is meant to provide information on safe migration, defined as the legal crossing of
borders, but this does not protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The message
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circulated about safe migation has been confusing, with illegal migration, prostitution and
trafficking (for girls) often collapsed into one issue.
7.2.4 Issue 5: Children and their families are not fully aware of the potential risks
and benefits of migration
Comment: The strategies under this heading have been partly implemented for cross-border
migration. Children are now more likely to be stopped at the border under the suspicion of
being trafficked. This is a direct consequence of activities to combat trafficking. To what extent
child rights are protected when children are arrested and sent to shelter homes deserves
careful attention. Children travel for economic reasons also. As a result of tighter border
control, movement has declined. Also, new arrangements are made to avoid causing
suspicion. Thus, girls travel as 'wife' or 'daughter' under arrangements that may increase their
costs, dependance and exploitation. This is an area needing careful monitoring from the point
of view of child rights, not only border security.
The strategy to establish child information/support centres in major bus/railway stations and
launch terminals is highly pertinent but is yet to be implemented in a significant way.
7.2.5 Issue 6: Protecting children from sexual abuse by staff working in
institutions, facilities or organizations serving them
Comment: The seven strategies listed here are well written and remain entirely relevant. In the
institutions visited, implementation is not evident. Pursuing implementation of these strategies
is highly recommended.
7.2.6 Issue 7: Laws and policies to prevent child sexual abuse/exploitation and
trafficking are not sufficiently effective
Comment: The strategy includes a review of customary laws and practices, particularly in
terms of families refusing to pursue prosecution of exploiters. Parts One and Two discussed
the reasons why justice is not sought and the law is not applied. The need to avoid attracting
attention to the loss of honour prevents families from filing cases with the police or seeking
community arbitration. These attitudes protect rapists and traffickers. Unfortunately, such
problems can hardly be addressed through new legislation. They require a social
transformation whereby victims and their families confront social prejudices and the stigma of
being noshto. They also require strong family support for the victim, the commitment and
expertise of NGOs, and apropriate media backing. The power of the government to change
ancestral attitudes is limited.
Law enforcement agencies, lawyers and prosecutors also need to work more effectively in
filing and prosecuting cases. The government could adopt a zero-tolerance attitude for 'men in
uniform' and state employees known to sexually abuse children in the discharge of their
functions.
7.2.7 Issue 8: Elimination of child marriage
Comment: National campaigns on the illegality and harm of child marriage have been
conducted and the message has been received. However, it has not significantly changed
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guardians' attitudes. Child marriage is illegal but it continues to be perceived as legitimate in a
large part of society. The law does not bite as it is broken with complete impunity. Sanctions
could be imposed on officials who allow or arrange the marriage of a girl under the age of 18,
such as school headmasters. The sanction could be doubled if the girl is below 15 and could
apply even without a birth certificate.
Birth registration should be encouraged by all means, but it will not suffice to stop child
marriage. Girls pursuing secondary school need to be sustained more strongly and jobs with
reasonable income for adolescents should be multiplied. Above all, more efforts are needed to
challenge traditional gender roles and hierarchies, the normative age gap between husband
and wife, and an obsession with the purity of girls, which bars them from knowing and
exploring the world. In spite of the changes that Bangladesh society has undergone, the age of
girls at marriage has hardly increased. This is a field where research could usefully contribute
insights.
7.2.8 Issue 10: Research to enhance the understanding of sexual
abuse/exploitation and trafficking
Comment: In the entire NPA, research appears only in this section. One could argue that not
only protection but all sections of the NPA need a research component to 'enhance
understanding'.
The topics listed as needing research are relevant: perpetrators of sexual abuse, sexual abuse
of boys, links between sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, links between children's insecure
living conditions and sexual abuse and exploitation, social impact of child sexual abuse/
exploitation and trafficking or the production and distribution of child pornography.
All these topics need to be better researched, and the list is not exhaustive. Studying changes
in family patterns and the care given to children with migration and urbanization, the impact of
television and other media on the understanding of childhood, and parents' views of child rights
would be useful. Better documentation is needed of conditions preceding children coming to
the street or falling into other vulnerable situations - the antecedents to or beginning of the
'slippery slope'. Knowing the conditions 'upstream', not only downstream, would help in
developing more enlightened policies. Broadbased research is also needed to broaden the
view and reveal what was previously unseen and to correct distorted views and prejudices.
The merit of research committed to objectivity and political neutrality need not be argued.
The strategy recommends research on sexual abuse among minority groups. It should be
pointed out that populations are made vulnerable and minority-like in all kinds of ways. The
processes creating powerlessness and allowing impunity for abusers need to be looked into
wherever they occur. Case histories have shown that vulnerability increases for those who are
outsiders, rootless or lacking male guardians, as well as having ethnic or religious minority
status. Research should avoid stigmatizing minority groups. Rather, it should look into
processes of disempowerment wherever they operate, including in mainstream society.
That research on children should involve children goes without saying. The strategy
recommends research conducted by peers. Unfortunately, little of this type of research has
been carried out, but it should be encouraged. Such research should be sex specific and
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should include analysis of sexuality and gender as they interconnect with other factors
influencing behaviour. Lack of analytical insights creates shortsightedness and a rigid
application/replication of politically correct images of childhood, which are not helpful.
Research requires expertise, time and resource, and it is in serious need of improvement. It
should engage academics and donors. NGOs often lack the capacity to undertake research;
many do not see the need for it and are suspicious of researchers. A better understanding is
needed of how research contributes to knowledge building and identification of problems and
issues. Better communication among researchers, policy makers and project implementors is
highly desirable.
7.3 Protection of Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
7.3.1 Issue 1: Birth registration
Comment: Birth registration has increased, but not as fast as targeted. The importance of
registering births has not been sufficiently emphasized to parents, and it is not understood as a
legal obligation, notwithstanding the 2004 Birth and Death Registration law. Mobilization
campaigns have not been efficient.
Lack of coordination between secretaries of union council and health workers hampers the
efficiency of birth registration. The importance of birth registration needs to be reaffirmed at
national level.
The possibility of manipulation is high unless registration takes place soon after birth.
A computerized national record of births could check manipulations but it is still to be created.
26
7.3.2 Issue 2: To establish structures to identify and report cases of sexual
abuse/exploitation and refer them for support
Comment: The seven strategies under this issue have been largely ignored because
structures have not been established to receive complaints. The idea of an independent body
to receive complaints is not yet understood or accepted.
The proposed partners listed, such as ministries, private schools, madrassahs, NGOs, teacher
training colleges and medical associations, have not been approached and are not expected to
regard this work as falling under their mandate.
Victims and their families resent going to public bodies due to mistrust and fear of publicity.
There is no trust in the confidentiality of services.
Mechanisms for complaints have been established in shelter homes run by NGOs, but
confidentiality is not always guaranteed.
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26
At the time of the writing, an online birth registration information system was still in the planning stage. However, in December
2009, the -Division of Local Government supported by UNICEF has piloted an online birth registration information system in 2
Districts, which will be scaled up nationally by the end of 2010.
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Data are collected on a very small scale by different organizations and according to different
criteria. These scattered data cannot give a comprehensive view of the problem.
Few referral services for victims are functioning. One exception is the One Stop Crisis Centres,
but there are only six in the entire country, so they cannot be relied upon to give a wide and
comprehensive picture of the country as a whole.
7.3.3 Issue 3: To create safe havens to strengthen the capacity of children at risk
or victims of sexual abuse or exploitation to protect themselves from abuse
Comment: The creation of shelter homes and drop-in centres for children at risk or victims of
sexual abuse, exploitation or trafficking has been a major success of the Government and
NGOs since 2002. The strategies spelled out in the NPA have been applied.
Open-air schools, drop-in centres, shelter homes and hostels offer a good range of services.
Shelter homes catering for the children of women operating in officially recorded brothels offer
more and more services for an increasingly small population. Others cater to a relatively small
percentage of children living on the street. Many youth return to the street after a stay in a
shelter home, and others never open the NGO door.
An important question is the level of resources that should be spent on such projects versus
helping children in difficulty before they come to the street. The causes that lead children to the
street need to be better understood.
The definition of children at risk is elastic. Should children be removed from their families and
environments to be protected from sexual abuse and exploitation? What is the limit to such an
intervention? NGOs operating shelter homes should raise this question.
Shelter homes have their own problems. Those catering for daughters of prostitutes and
female victims of trafficking are known to 'brand' girls, who remain identified with a stigmatizing
event or status through the institution. Prolonged institutionalization may leave adolescents
poorly prepared to face the world, weakening their capacity for self-protection. Girls who have
successfully completed their studies and taken jobs have not been able to leave the shelter
home, as they cannot live alone.
Again, the absence of parents among the partners listed to implement the strategy is
detrimental.
7.3.4 Issue 4: Appropriate laws and policies and effective implementation to protect
children against sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking
Comment: The Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act 2000 (revised 2003)
is a strong law for pursuing perpetrators of sexual abuse and traffickers, but its implementation
is poor.
The training given in the Police Reform Project needs to be extended to reach all uniformed
officers. NGOs and women's groups have also worked to tighten loopholes to make the law
more effective.
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Police reluctance to register complaints or to write a First Investigative Report that supports
prosecution of alleged perpetrators remains a problem. The One Stop Crisis Centres and
NGOs offering legal aid ensure that reports are sufficient, but few victims of sexual abuse or
trafficking receive such assistance. Coverage is far below the need.
The non-judicial community-based approach (shalish) does not respect child rights and is not
recommended. The principles upheld are often contrary to child rights, and many of the
resolutions adopted (such as arranging a marriage between an underage girl and her rapist)
cannot be condoned. NGOs have made some small attempts to create a different type of
shalish that respects the rights of children as persons and provides some justice to the poor.
7.3.5 Issue 5: The double victimization of children who are blamed by society
following sexual abuse/exploitation/ trafficking
Comment: The NPA repeatedly stresses the importance of sex-specific approaches, but its
strategies do not reflect this policy. The double victimization works quite differently for boys and
for girls, but this difference is never addressed.
The double victimization of girls is acknowledged to a limited extent. Measures to create a girl-
friendly environment in police stations have been implemented in a token way. The Victim
Support Centre, recently opened in Dhaka as a pilot project, is an interesting experiment but it
is the only such centre in the entire country. These measures do not suffice.
Double victimization occurs because of institutions but also because of family attitudes. Only
one of the strategies addresses the problem at that level. Parents commonly blame adolescent
daughters for damaging the family reputation when the sexual abuse becomes known. It is
impossible to address this problem meaningfully without including parents as partners. Given
that most cases of sexual abuse never enter the legal system but are dealt with at family and
community levels, the double victimization that most urgently needs attention is in the family
and community. It affects girls as girls and boys as boys. There are no (sex neutral) 'children'
here since the insult, the mockery or the exclusion exacerbates sex and gender as normative
constructs.
7.3.6 Issue 6: Media reports and respect for the victim's privacy
Comment: Progress has been made in this respect at national level; local media lag behind.
7.4 Recovery and Reintegration of Abused and Exploited Children
7.4.1 Issue 1: To give victims an opportunity to take part in their recovery and
identify the most appropriate reintegration options for them
Comment: The strategies listed address how to regenerate resilience and coping
mechanisms, providing interaction with peers and opportunities to organize their own
programmes. Some shelter homes make efforts to practise this excellent philosophy with some
success, but overall it remains an ideal.
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7.4.2 Issue 2: To ensure that child victims have access to all necessary support
services to aid their recovery and prepare them for social reintegration
Comment: The strategies correspond to the services aimed to be provided for child victims of
sexual abuse and exploitation. But in many shelter homes, actual services fall short of this
objective, sometimes to a considerable degree. The lack of expertise for psychological support
has been underlined.
Efforts to speed up the training of psychologists encouraged students to study psychology at
university, but this has moved very slowly and 'nationwide capacity' is a long way away.
'Counsellors' met during this research acknowledged their lack of knowledge and expertise for
their task and their frustration at not getting more support. Newly graduated young women
often find their first job as counsellors in shelter homes. They come from a very different milieu
and are unprepared for the behaviour and language of children coming from the street, the
brothel or elsewhere.
Termination of pregnancy: In Dhaka and other major cities, the service is available at low cost
(at Mary Stopes clinics), but in sub-district towns and rural areas unmarried girls wishing to
have an abortion must often resort to unsafe and expensive practitioners.
Recovery from abusive conditions for children outside institutions is not addressed in the
strategies. Girls and boys who are sexually abused and live with their families are totally
forgotten. Parents (mostly mothers) who attempt to provide support to their children receive no
help. Clinical psychologists (there are a few) do not appear to have participated in this part of
the NPA.
7.4.3 Issue 3: To create a receptive environment to the reintegration of child
victims in their families and communities
Comment: The proposed strategies are well conceived. What has been done concerns
reintegration of victims of trafficking; little has been done for victims of sexual abuse.
Problems of reintegration are obviously quite different for girls than for boys, but the strategy
does not recognize this. For girls, the stigma remains even after NGOs close their file on a
'success' story. Again, the role of parents in creating a receptive environment is not mentioned.
The common failure of recovery and reintegration is not considered. The strategy should call
for research into the causes of such failure. It may require a critical review of the very concept
of 'rescue' and 'reintegration'. The 'reintegration' of girls by arranging their marriage and
offering dowry (though illegal) is a solution still practised today by orphanages and other local
bodies. More progressive organizations have moved away from arranged marriages as a
process of reintegration.
Following sexual abuse, very young girls are often married off before they can come to terms
with the traumatic experience. Parents are part of both the problem and the solution, and they
need to be key partners.
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7.5 Addressing Perpetrators
7.5.1 Issue 1: Build profiles of the different kinds of perpetrators of child sexual
abuse/exploitation/trafficking to identify appropriate preventive and protective
strategies
Comment: It is important to develop profiles of perpetrators, but doing so meaningfully
requires unpacking the 'bundle' of sexual abuse, commercial exploitation and trafficking. It is
not workable to place in the same category husbands, rapists, clients of underage girls, pimps
and grandmothers who naively traffick their grandchildren.
Profiling perpetrators from recorded complaints of sexual abuse, exploitation or trafficking will
only yield very limited information since most cases are never reported. It also leaves
unaddressed the problematic 'bundling' of diverse issues and populations.
In child trafficking and prostitution, the use of 'false marriages' and so-called 'husbands' are
reported, but it is difficult to trace the line between 'true' and 'false' marriages. So long as
marriage and family remain sacrosanct institutions, closed off to scrutiny of child sexual abuse
and identification of abusers, they may be used as covers for the exploitation of girls. Beyond
profiling abusers (who could number in the millions), this area demands vigorous questioning
of an institution that makes young girls the property of their husbands and authorizes their
abuse.
Profiling abusers should take into account the age of the victim and the age gap between
abuser and victim. The law does not distinguish between a 4-year-old and a 17-year-old victim;
all are 'children'. At the very least, pre- and post-puberty children ought to be distinguished.
Social protests involving broad-based community groups after an incident becomes known is a
strategy likely to be effective in a social context where a fair degree of consensus exists on the
gravity of the crime. Such strong protests have taken place following the rape of a 4-year-old
girl by an 18-year-old boy. Communities generally distinguish degrees and kinds of abuse. An
unmarried 25-year-old man raping a 16-year-old girl falls into the category of 'bad' but 'normal',
but a 60-year-old grandfather raping an 8-year-old boy or girl is likely to be judged 'bestial',
'revolting' or 'abnormal'. In using profiling for prevention and protection, these epithets could be
put to good use. It should be made clear that 'normal' behaviour does not excuse the
perpetrator, and what is regarded as 'normal' behaviour may also be questioned.
Special consideration should be given to abuse of boys, which has received little attention to
date. Profiling perpetrators is not without danger as it places all attention on the individual and
does not question the sexual culture within which the abuse takes place.
In western countries, research has been undertaken primarily on convicted sex offenders, who
are obliged to undergo therapy while in detention. With the low level of conviction in
Bangladesh, such a population is not available.
Traffickers have been profiled on posters and other material. The 'typical' villain borrowed from
the cinema has evolved into more varied characters: the lover, the husband, the auntie or the
grandmother figure. Such stereotyping of 'abusers' and 'traffickers' is not always useful. It is
more important to read the signs of a suspicious relationship.
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7.5.2 Issue 2: To apprehend and prosecute alleged perpetrators of sexual
abuse/exploitation and trafficking of children
Comment: Prompt legal action against alleged perpetrators is most important, but it requires
collaboration from the victim and her family, which is problematic given that many families
refuse legal action.
It is unlikely that outsiders will denounce sexual abuse within a family in Bangladesh, except
perhaps when it concerns a domestic worker. Reluctance to prosecute family members is
widespread. 'Technical' solutions such as keeping perpetrators away from the abused are not
very effective. Some solutions are clearly detrimental, such as the rushed marriage of an
abused young girl to her rapist.
Broad publicity about convictions in local and national media has been an effective strategy in
the past (with some memorable cases such as the police officers who received the death
penalty). But failing to prosecute well-publicized cases sends the opposite message. The
political climate is crucial in seeing prosecution through. Political patrons have been known to
protect their supporters from prosecution. Political parties should be included among the
partners of this strategy.
7.5.3 Issue 3: To develop and pilot non-judicial, community-based measures for
dealing with perpetrators (especially children)
Comment: The research found that shalish protects perpetrators, as class and kin solidarities
worked to their advantage. Victims from poor families were worthy only of charity, at best.
Shalish often victimizes the victim and fails to serve justice. These arbitration assemblies are
not recommended as a strategy.
Provisions for psychological counselling or community service do not exist for perpetrators of
sexual abuse. If the abuse becomes known, perpetrators may be shunned by the community,
made to amend for their crimes through a reparation ritual or forced to marry the victim. The
latter procedure needs to be combated resolutely.
Peer group influence and pressure on perpetrators should be explored. Peers may boost the
confidence of abusers but they may also shun a rapist. Youth clubs could play a positive role in
this effort and should be included among partners.
7.5.4 Issue 4: Lack of awareness regarding child rights, gender equality,
reproductive health, the illegality of child sexual abuse/exploitation/trafficking
and the harmful impact on victims
Comment: The strategy appropriately points out the need to promote more responsible sexual
attitudes and behaviours. The message should not be restricted to "existing/potential
perpetrators" but should be conveyed widely to boys and young men as a priority.
Messages should address the belief that satisfaction of sexual urge is necessary for health, to
be a 'man' or as a sign of power, and that men have a right to impose sex on another person.
Beliefs about shopno-dosh (involuntary ejaculation) need to be addressed.
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Headmasters and teachers, particularly in boys' schools, should be convinced of the need to
address sexuality and insist on responsible sexual behaviour. Teachers are not included in the
list of partners, nor are parents, despite being key actors.
Sexual abuse has been attached onto NGO programmes such as APON and the Centre for
Mass Education in Science but has not been the subject of mass campaigns.
If the physical pain of the victim is seen to some degree, the psychological harm is not
understood. The belief that a child is too young to remember and will forget what she/he
suffered is widespread. Campaigns should underline the gravity of the damage done to girls
and boys who are sexually abused. Evidence should be gathered from adults abused as
children who are willing to speak about the wounds they carried. Research and public debates
on these subjects would be useful.
7.6 Addressing Child Participation
7.6.1 Issue 1: To ensure a high degree of participation by children in
implementation and monitoring of the NPA
Comment: The strategy recommends creation of a National Children's Task Force. This has
been constituted at national and district levels, comprising children from diverse socio-
economic backgrounds, some of whom are from shelter homes. A newsletter is produced with
child journalists. The initiative revealed outstanding talents. The Task Force may have limited
influence, but it is a powerful symbol and an excellent platform for talented youth.
Yet child participation is not easily accepted in most parts of society, including among families,
at workplaces and in schools. Most girls are not consulted regarding major decisions affecting
their lives, including when and whom they marry. Many are unable to escape child marriage.
Boys marry later but their participation in decisions affecting their lives is also often denied.
Governmental and NGOs that endorse child participation have used creative means such as
drama to engage children. Such practices are limited largely to such organizations and are not
easily taken up in other contexts.
7.6.2 Issue 2: Increase children's awareness on their right to participate and
build their capacity to do so
Comment: The strategies are commendable, but exercises to encourage participation are very
limited, especially in formal schools.
Working adolescents who are breadwinners are given opportunities to participate in family
decision-making because they are no longer regarded as children.
Some children who are sex workers do not accept being referred to as children and do not
agree with 'rescue' and 'rehabilitation'. It might be useful to invite them to express their views in
matters concerning their lives and participate in monitoring implementation of the NPA.
Participation should acknowledge important gender differences in social recognition of the right
and ability to take decisions.
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7.6.3 Issue 3: Raise awareness of parents, teachers and other key adults
regarding children's right to participate
Comment: The strategy includes raising awareness at teacher training institutions and among
staff responsible for children generally.
The educational system and the philosophy it sustains do not leave much opportunity for
creative participation by students. Teachers and students are under pressure to complete the
curriculum and achieve the highest results. The structure is hierarchical, and student
participation is not on the agenda. For this to begin to change, the Ministry of Education needs
to make a clear commitment and issue specific instructions to school authorities.
Parenting programmes do not exist, so reaching parents is difficult. Mechanisms should be
created and channels established to increase communication with parents.
There is a wide gap between what NGOs advocate and the actual realization of rights to
participate by children. The lack of adult support has been deplored by adolescent peer
educators of the NGO project (in Case history 7), who were easily convinced of their right to
participate but felt unsupported. These girls and boys belong to families of humble means.
Their class background also hampered their ability to participate in community affairs.
Changing these mores requires a revolution in attitudes.
7.6.4 Issue 4: Increase opportunities for participation of non-school-going
children
Comment: Children's organizations and clubs and the development of networks of such
organizations are commendable initiatives that may be effective for some children. However,
they will not reach working children and those who have no free time or access to clubs. Other
strategies must be found. The ability to participate requires income and control over one's time.
7.6.5 Issue 5: To monitor effectiveness of children's participation in
implementing the NPA
Comment: Who are the 'children' who may monitor implementation of the NPA? For example,
do the members of the National Children's Task Force effectively represent 'children'? Token
displays of child participation engendered by adults and arranged largely for their benefit do
not represent true participation. The most important participation for children is within their daily
environment in the family, community, school and work place. To develop indicators on child
participation will require a more concrete definition of it.
7.7 Addressing HIV/AIDS, STIs and Substance Abuse
7.7.1 Issue 1: All children need to know about sexuality, sexual hygiene and their
vulnerability, especially victims of sexual abuse/exploitation, to reduce negative
health consequences
Comment: The strategy to introduce a flexible curriculum to teach about sexuality in formal
schools, non-formal learning centres, private schools and madrassahs is highly commendable.
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So far such teaching has been limited to hygiene (for girls) and HIV/AIDS, and it does not
address sexuality. Though changes are in the pipeline, the content, presentation and degree of
implementation remain to be unseen.
Teaching should inform children about risks and vulnerabilities without presenting a fearful
image of sexuality. It should use positive language, underline rights and responsibilities for
oneself and others, and address gender stereotypes that endanger health.
7.7.2 Issue 2: To achieve widespread use of safer sex practices among those
who sexually exploit children and child victims
Comment: This strategy is aimed at children under 18 engaged in prostitution. In the words of
the NPA, "Those who sexually exploit children" describes the clients. The words are confusing
as 'exploiters' of children can hardly be relied upon to be 'protectors'. However, 'customers'
may be convinced of protecting themselves and, at the same time, also protect the young sex
worker whose services they contract.
Again, girls and boys engaged in prostitution reject the words 'child victims' and see the label
as condescending and belittling. The label should be changed in consultation with these young
persons demanding respect and consideration.
The strategy fails to acknowledge the wide range of situations in which those under 18 engage
in prostitution. Some spend time on the street but, with their relatively good income, can afford
to rent accommodation; some live with their families; and others are on the street 24 hours a
day.
Those who adopt sex work as a profession necessarily develop negotiating skills, though they
may not know how to protect their health or be able to or may not feel it is important. Girls and
boys selling sex take huge risks, especially in the beginning when they have the least control
and are not reached by NGOs working to combat HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
The promotion of safer sex among the population at large has been concentrated in a few
locations, such as brothels; many areas in need of such information remain unreached.
Young male clients of prostitutes, especially those with little education, typically practise unsafe
sex. The need for information is widespread and starts early, given that boys as young as 15
or 16 use prostitutes (and boys of the street using prostitutes are often younger). Attempts
should be made to identify and reach sex workers and clients who remain outside the purview
of programmes.
7.7.3 Issue 3: To provide information to sexually exploited/abused children
relating to STIs and HIV/AIDS and sufficient and appropriate facilities for testing
Comment: The strategy uses the label of 'victims' for young prostitutes, which seems counter-
productive in efforts to inform them about STIs and HIV/AIDS.
Shelter homes provide some psychosocial support for sexually exploited or abused children
but are unlikely to enrol those who cannot or will not give up prostitution. While their peers do
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provide psychological support (during pregnancy or illness), as would their families if they live
with them, these young persons are otherwise left to their own wits.
7.7.4 Issue 4: To inform/educate the general public about HIV/AIDS in order to
avoid misconceptions and stigmatization of those living with the illness
Comment: Programmes with such objective were not identified. The issue does not
particularly concern children. Those living with HIV/AIDS tend to hide and not confront public
opinion.
7.7.5 Issue 5: To reduce the harm caused by tobacco, alcohol or other drugs by
children living in brothels or living/working on the street
Comment: Consumption of tobacco products among children under 18 is a serious problem
but it has little connection to sexual abuse or prostitution.
On the other hand, street girls sniffing glue to forget the harsh conditions of their lives, or girls
in private or public brothels drinking alcohol with clients to remove their inhibitions, are linked
with sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation. In the largest brothel in the country,
heroin addiction has increased among young prostitutes, prolonging the period of bondage for
some and leading to death for others. Govermental and non-governmental organizations
operating in these locations do not seem equipped to deal with the problem.
Though some NGOs make an effort to assist addicted street youth, others have been known to
evict them from shelter homes.
The strategies listed here, on the whole, have not been implemented. They require resources
and an investment that have not been committed.
7.8 Coordination and Monitoring
Coordination between Government, NGOs and donors is very much needed; much work
remains to be done.
Focal points in government ministries have been created for trafficking of women and children.
With the Ministry of Home Affairs in the lead, attention has been given mostly to cross-border
trafficking and prosecution of traffickers. These efforts have begun to tackle a difficult and
complex problem. But this agenda has not included child sexual abuse within national borders,
at work places or in institutitions, communities and families, which is a far more complex
problem, where those in charge are more hesitant in criminalizing the offence.
No government mechanism has been established to periodically review progress in
implementing the NPA on the Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children.
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CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 Promotion of Child Rights to the Wider Public
Twenty years after the Government of Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the Convention's values and philosophy do not sufficiently inform debates, policies and
programmes across sectors. Governments are foremost duty bearers for all human rights. The
commitment to advance the recognition of child rights has been taken up at top level. It should
be woven into policies and reach down to local levels, including local elected bodies, thana
police, school teachers, health workers and others. Too often, promoting child rights is
assumed to be the affair of NGOs. The Government should be seen as firmly engaged with
child rights everywhere, and especially in schools. The first recommendation is to uphold child
rights with a clear government signature in all institutions relating to education, health, labour
and the law.
8.2 Distinguishing between Child Sexual Abuse, Exploitation and Trafficking
As often reiterated in this report, the lumping-together of child sexual abuse, exploitation and
trafficking must be unpacked. Each issue should be clearly distinguished and strategies
spelled out for each domain. This is essential to deal intelligently and effectively with very
different populations and institutions. The greatest efforts have been deployed to combat
trafficking, a cause generously funded by international donors. Child sexual abuse as an
internal problem has been overlooked while child commercial sexual exploitation remains an
area of confused theories and approaches. This needs to be reconsidered.
8.3 Child Sexual Abuse
An activist appropriately commented that young children are neglected and adolescent girls
are treated as women.
27
It is poorly understood that sexual aggression on young children may
have lasting effects, that abuse occurs in all classes of society and that children of both sexes
are victims. There is blindness and denial.
When adolescent girls are raped, the greatest attention is given to management of dishonour
and minimization of social consequences. Little support is offered to the traumatized girl, who
is expected to bury her pain. For the great majority of sexually abused girls, the consequences
are not entry into prostitution but abandonment of studies, early marriage, difficulty in adapting
to marriage, early pregnancy and a host of other problems. There is a need to recognize the
devastating consequences of sexual abuse for the victim, her family and society at large. Much
work is needed to prevent sexual abuse and review the damaging practices for 'reintegration'
of the victim, which often constitute further violation of her rights.
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Roxana Sultana of BTS.
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Sexual abuse and the threat of it limit girls' opportunities and hamper their participation in
society. Effectively combating it will have beneficial effects on major governmental objectives.
The resulting climate of safety would allow girls to complete secondary education, marry later
and play an active role in society.
Sexual abuse of boys is not recognized as a serious problem. Abused boys are often unable to
speak or are not heard because of a belief that 'boys cannot be raped', due to constructions of
masculinitiy that do not admit to such vulnerability. To be a man requires silence about sexual
abuse.
Silencing and covering up sexual abuse helps the perpetrators, who are seldom confronted or
challenged. Perpetrators of sexual abuse on children belong to all classes of society but are
overwhelming male and are often in a position of power. While not all men are abusers, the
problem concerns males as a class. Greater involvement of men in addressing aggressive
masculinity is needed. Many perpetrators of abuse do not recognize their acts as abusive.
Such men should be confronted with the damage they cause. This requires talking about
sexuality, which is often considered a taboo subject. Opportunities should be created for
adolescent boys and young men to discuss these subjects. Parents, teachers and employers
have a responsibility for education and prevention.
8.4 The Law and Difficulties in its Application
Efforts should be made to augment the number of prosecutions for sexual abuse of girls. This
requires pressure on the police and doctors to ensure that cases are filed and adequate proofs
gathered to sustain cases. Some NGOs, activists and women's groups have done outstanding
work in assisting victims of sexual abuse, but the NGOs in general need to get more organized
and better prepared to assist victims. The number of One Stop Crisis Centres should be
increased.
Prosecution for sexual abuse of boys is yet to occur. More than a legal issue, the problem is
the social perception that it is not a crime.
8.5 Sex Education in Schools
Formal and informal schools and madrassahs scattered thoughout the country provide one of
the most efficient ways to reach out to a large population of children, adolescents and adults.
NGOs cannot achieve such coverage. Schools could do far more to address the issues
covered in this report and educate students to demand respect for their person and to be
responsible persons themselves with their own sexuality.
Child rights should not be an empty shell. In addition to being woven into the curricula, child
rights should be the subject of school projects and discussions. It should be inherent within
teaching on subjects such as reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and STIs as well as other related
topics already in the curricula.
Teaching about sexuality should be introduced into the curricula, addressing matters of
concern to adolescent girls and boys. Considering the prevalent sources of information today -
cinema, pornography, prostitution - there is a pressing need to teach adolescent boys about
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responsible sexual behaviour and respect the self and others. The spread of pornographic
material (which was found even in the hands of madrassah students in an isolated village) is a
fact that should be recognized. The argument that teaching about sexuality spoils children and
should not be done in schools does not hold. Schools are the appropriate location to teach
about sexuality and human rights.
Girls are made responsible for protecting themselves, being taught to curtail their movements
and cover up their bodies. Teaching in school and at home tends to emphasize restrictions and
cultivate fear and shame. Rights, entitlement to justice and equity, and participation need more
emphasis. It is essential for headmasters, teachers, parents and other adults to provide
guidance and support, helping to create an environment where girls can be safe. Girls' safe
space should not be reduced to home. The street should also be safe for them.
Boys need to hear specific messages regarding their needs. The topic of involuntary
ejaculation (shopno dosh) should be discussed. Teachers and medical practitioners should not
avoid the topic; they need to be prepared to assist boys seeking advice. It could be the entry
point for a discussion of a host of topics that worry adolescent boys.
The language used in schoolbooks to teach about biology, hygiene and health is quite
obscure. Pedagogues and child specialists rather than scientists should write these texts.
Other types of communication material could be explored.
Some NGOs (Breaking the Silence, DISA) have developed non-threatening and child-friendly
methods to address sexual abuse in the classroom. Their experience could inspire a national
programme. Mechanisms should be established to facilitate collaboration between NGOs and
government schools. This requires the Ministry of Education to approve such collaboration and
pass on specific instruction to headmasters.
Large schools should designate a child rights counselor and appoint focal points among
students to ensure discussion and good communication among students and between students
and teachers.
Parents are essential partners. Through schools, they can be involved. They need to be
reached as educators and as guardians concerned about the protection of their children. Their
collaboration is fundamental.
8.6 Employer Responsibilities to Child Employees
Campaigns have been organized to reach employers of child domestic workers but not
employers in other domains. Employers of boys in factories, small hotels, shops and
workshops appear particularly unaware of their responsibility for protection of the children they
employ. Many boys are ignorant of their right to protection from sexual abuse and do not even
have words to speak of the abuse suffered. These problems need to be addressed.
Implementation of the new labour law, which limits working hours according to age, could free
working children and permit them to attend informal schools, which in turn could expose them
to child rights awareness programmes. Boys employed in small establishments will remain
difficult to reach, and means must be found to pass on the message to employers.
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Some large factories have had success setting up a complaint box or other mechanisms to
stop sexual harassment on the shop floor. All factory owners should be invited to set up such
mechanisms and be more attentive to sexual abuse and harassment within their
establishment. With the growing number of girls working in factories and shops, the problem is
serious. Labour unions and other human rights organizations could strengthen mechanisms to
assist girl victims of sexual abuse.
8.7 Shelter Homes and Drop-in Centres
Shelter homes and drop-in centres for children living on the street and in brothels have
multiplied since the NPA was developed in 2002. There is an urgent need for night shelters at
the main railway stations and river ports where street children gather so that newcomers in
particular may be protected from sexual abuse.
Few children making use of shelter homes can be effectively 'rehabilitated' and 'reintegrated'.
Shelter homes should not be built without also addressing the causes of children coming to the
street.
Though poverty is a major cause of children moving to the street, other factors usually
exacerbate the problem, such as dysfunctional families. Research could help to understand the
causes and to find ways to better protect children.
Children should be reached as early as possible, before they turn to the street. If they wind up
on the street, they should be assisted before becoming victims of sexual abuse and other
violations of the street.
8.8 Girls Engaged in Prostitution
The 'recovery' and 'reintegration' of girls under 18 who have been engaged in prostitution have
generally failed. Returning to where they started is often impossible or undesirable. Such
adolescents do not consider themselves children and have much to say about a society that
failed them. They should be heard, and more efforts should be deployed in addressing the
failures they denounce. A thorough review of terms and paradigms to deal with adolescent
prostitutes is recommended, keeping in mind the respect these young persons demand and
their right to participate to their own protection.
8.9 Boy Clients of Prostitutes
Boys living in all-male environments have little chance to meet girls except as prostitutes.
These boys divide females into black and white categories: good/bad, pure/impure, whore/wife.
They develop views that reduce females to objects and are not conducive to the respect of
human rights. Some of these boys, not yet 18, dehumanize prostitutes and perpetrate violence
against them. The culture in which they grow up needs to be better known and questioned.
Boys also need information regarding sexual health. Points of entry should be found, possibly
the cinema.
The sexes are separated to ensure purity and morality. The drawbacks of this approach need
to be acknowledged. NGOs have recognized that having girls and boys socialize together and
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learn to respect each other helps to establish healthy relationships. It has been reported that
socialization centres (ACD in Rajshahi) where boys and girls can meet in a friendly way
reduced the sexual harrassement of girls. APON and the Kishor/Kishori Abhijan projects in
several districts promote the same philosophy. These isolated experiments should be
multiplied.
8.10 The Need for Research
There is an urgent need for more information and better understanding of several issues. The
short field research carried out for this evaluation points to the need for research on (1) sexual
identities and boys entering prostitution; (2) the demand for prostitutes, focusing on the origins
of demand by both individuals and society; (3) how the demand for sex workers affects
supply; (4) the factors that create supply (not just poverty); (5) child and adolescent work,
including occupations, salary scales, discrimination and abuse; (6) factors leading boys and
girls to the street; (7) family structure and child care patterns with special focus on
'dysfunctional' families; (8) reasons behind the failure of rescue, recovery and reintegration
programmes for children on the street and those engaged in prostitution.
Identifying topics for research does not suffice. Just as critical are the objectivity and reliability
of the data collected and the solidity of the analysis and the conclusion. Ennew recognizes
many challenges to research on child sexual exploitation. One of them is "the absolute
values of the international community, which defines the exploitation of children in prostitution
as a 'worst form' and advocate zero tolerance [which] can ignore information that does not
match assumptions."
28
In the same paper, she quotes Melrose (without reference) who remarks
that "talking of children and young people involved in prostitution is something of a mine field".
In Bangladesh as elsewhere, ideology and hidden agenda have influenced research. Methods
and procedures to collect data have not always been transparent.
This revisit of the National Plan of Action 2002 attempts to broaden the view beyond ongoing
projects and identify issues within a larger social field. One may conclude that the sexual
abuse of children and their exploitation in prostitution are manifestations of deep societal
problems concerning relationships between adults and children and understandings of sex and
gender in a context of socio-economic inequality. Efforts should be made to combat both the
structural factors and day-to-day exploitation. Successfully addressing abusive situations
requires a critical look at the social fabric, cultural mores and daily realities. There is scope for
a large agenda.
89
28
Ennew, p.23
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APPENDIX 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
A) On Bangladesh
Association for Community Development (ACD), 2008, 'Assessment of Vulnerability of Boys: A
Situational Analysis on Prostitution of Boys'. Rajshahi.
ACD, 2004, 'Adolescent Prostitutes: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children'.
Ali, Masud, Mustaque Ali and Ratan Sarkar, 1997, 'Misplaced Childhood: A Short Study on the
Street Child Prostitutes in Dhaka City', INCIDIN, Dhaka.
Amin, S., S. Mahmud and L. Huq, 2002, 'Kishori Abhijan. Baseline Survey Report on Rural
Adolescents in Bangladesh', Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs and UNICEF, Dhaka.
Asian Development Bank, 2002, 'Combating Trafficking in Women and Children in South Asia:
Country Paper Bangladesh', Dhaka.
Blanchet, T., 1996, "'Daughters are Gold to their Mothers': The many facets of the
mother/daughter relationship in the brothel", in Lost Innocence, Stolen Childhoods, The
University Press Ltd., Dhaka.
Blanchet, T., 2008, 'Bangladeshi Girls sold as Wives in North India', in Marriage, Migration and
Gender, R. Palriwala and P. Oberoi (eds), Sage Publications, New Delhi.
Blanchet, T., 2009, 'Efforts and Needs to Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP): An Assessment',
conducted for Winrock International and USAID, Dhaka.
BNWLA 2001, 'Violence against Women in Bangladesh.
Boneschi, S., 2004, 'Human Rights Report on Brothel-Based Women in Two Bangladesh
Towns: Sex workers of Jessore and Jamalpur', Terre des Hommes (Italy) and European
Commission.
Chowdhury, A., 1997, 'Non-commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Bangladesh: A case
study-based report', Breaking the Silence, Dhaka.
Clarke, J.M., 2003, 'Case Studies of Non-Commercial Sexual Abuse of Children in
Bangladesh', Breaking the Silence, Dhaka.
ECPAT International and INCIDIN Bangladesh, 2006, 'The Boys and the Bullies: A situational
analysis report on prostitution of boys in Bangladesh'. Bangkok.
Heissler, K., 2001, 'Background Paper on Good Practices and Priorities to Combat Sexual
Abuse and Exploitation of Children in Bangladesh', Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs
and UNICEF, Dhaka.
90
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 99 31/03/2011 2 3 3
INCIDIN, 2008, 'Rapid Assessment: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents in Bangladesh', Dhaka.
INCIDIN, 2008, 'Status Report on In-Country Trafficking and Seasonal Bonded Labour in
Children in Bangladesh', USAID and IOM, Dhaka.
International Labour Organization, 2009, 'Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).
Pilot Survey 2008', organized by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Kabir, R., 2006, 'Abuse in Children's Lives: A study of children's perspectives in three rural
and urban communities of Bangladesh', Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs, UNICEF
and Save the Children, Dhaka.
Khaer, A., 2003, 'Nirob Shomusha o Nirapotta Shikkha' ('Silent Problem and Safety Education:
with a special emphasis on child sexual abuse'), Development Initiative for Social
Advancement, Dhaka.
Save the Children Sweden-Denmark, 2009, 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Protecting children
from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking', coordinated by Asna Zareen and A.H.M. Lutfur
Kabir, Dhaka.
Tripthorpe, E. and I. Ahmed, 2005, 'There is Hope: Children victims of sexual abuse and
exploitation. An action-based research', Aparajeyo-Bangladesh and ChildHope-UK, Dhaka.
Uddin, F., M. Sultana and S Mahmud, 2001, 'Growing up in the Brothel: Children in the
Daulotdia and Kandapara brothel communities of Bangladesh', Save the Children, Dhaka.
Uddin, F. and H. Mohiuddin, 2007, 'Qualitative Baseline on Adolescents of the Chittagong Hill
Tracts', Chittagong University and UNICEF Bangladesh.
B) Regional and International
Boyden, J. and G. Mann, 2005, 'Children's Risk, Resilence and Coping in Extreme Situations',
Handbook for Working with Children and Youth: Pathways to Resilience Across Cultures and
Contexts, M. Ungar (ed.), Thousand Oaks, Sage Puglications
Chopra, R., C. Osella and F. Osella (eds), 2004, 'South Asian Masculinities: Context of
change, sites of continuity', Kali for Women and Women Unlimited, New Delhi.
Ennew, J., 2008, 'Exploitation of Children in Prostitution, Thematic Paper, World Congress III',
draft, Rio de Janeiro.
Howell, S., 1997, The Ethnography of Moralities, Routledge, London and New York.
Inda, J.X. and R. Rosaldo, (eds.), 2008, The Anthropology of Globalization, a Reader (second
edition), Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Oxford and Victoria.
91
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 100 31/03/2011 2 3 3
James, A. and A. Prout, 1990, Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood, The Falmer Press,
London, New York and Philadelphia.
Korbin, J.E., 2003, 'Children, Childhoods and Violence', The Annual Review of Anthropology,
32, pp.431-46
O'Connell Davidson, J., 2005, Children in the Global Sex Trade, Polity Press Limited,
Cambridge and Malden.
Recovering and Healing from Incest (RAHI), 1998, 'Voices from the Silent Zone: Women's
Experiences of Incest and Childhood Abuse', New Delhi.
Sarkar, T., 1999, Words to Win: The Making of Amar Jibon: A Modern Autobiography, Kali for
Women, New Delhi.
Slugget, C. and J. Frederick, 2003, 'Mapping of Psychosocial Support for Girls and Boys
Affected by Child Sexual Abuse in Four Countries of South and Central Asia: Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan', Save the Children Sweden-Denmark, Dhaka.
UNICEF ROSA, 2009, 'Research, Policy, Legislation and Program Responses to Protect Boys
in South Asia from Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation: An advocacy paper', Kathmandu.
Woodhead, M., 1998, 'Children's Perspectives on Their Working Lives: A participatory study in
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua', Stockholm,
Rdda Barnen.
92
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APPENDIX 2. LOCATIONS OF FIELD WORK
1. Barisal Metropolitan Area
2. Chittagong Metropolitan Area
3. Dhaka Metropolitan Area:
O Slums east and west of Rajabazar Shere -Bangla Nagor thana
O Korail slum (Gulshan thana)
O YMCA school (Dhanmondi thana)
O Tejgaon Government Girls High School (Tejgaon thana)
O Mirpur (Bauniabad, Pollobi, Mirpur 10 and 11)
O Old Dhaka, Lalbagh, Chalk Bazar, Nazimuddin Road
O Kamlapur Railway Station,
O Gulistan Park
O Stadium and Paltan Maidan
O High Court Mazar and Ramna Park
O Karwan Bazar
4. Jamalpur district:
O Jamalpur sadar
O Dewangonj thana (Gamaria, Chikajani, Pollakandi)
5. Jessore district:
O Marwa Mondir and Jhalaipotti brothels and surrounding community
6. Narayangonj district:
O Various location of Narayangonj sadar (launch terminal and railway station,
Shahidnagar)
O Siddhirgonj thana (various locations)
7. Patuakhali district:
O Sadar thana (Badarpur union)
O Mirzagonj thana (Kakrabunia, Deolishubidkhali, Mirzagonj Unions)
8. Rajbari district:
O Daulotdia brothel
O Villages of Goalondo and Rajbari thana
9. Rajshahi Metropolitan Area
10. Sunamgonj district:
O Sunamgonj sadar
O Jamalgonj upazila
11. Tangail district:
O Tangail brothel
O Shelter home
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94
THAKURGAON
PANCHAGARH
NILPHAMARI
LALMONIRHAT
DINAJPUR
RANGPUR
KURIGRAM
GAIBANDHA
JAIPURHAT
NAOGAON
C. NAWAB
GANJ
RAJSHAHI
NATORE
PABNA
SIRAJGANJ
BOGRA
SHERPUR
JAMALPUR
TANGAIL
MYMENSINGH
KUSHTIA
MEHER
PUR
CHUA
DANGA
JHENAIDAH
RAJBARI
MAGURA
FARIDPUR
NARAIL
GOPALGANJ
JESSORE
BAGERHAT
KHULNA
SATKHIRA
PATUAKHALI
BARGUNA
BHOLA
JHALAKATHI
BARISAL
DHAKA
MANIKGANJ
NARSHI
NGDI
BRAHMAN
BARIA
NARAYAN
GANJ
SHARIAT
PUR
MADARI
PUR
LAKSHMI
PUR
KHAGRACHHARI
(HILL TRACTS)
B A Y O F B E N G A L
RANGAMATI
(HILL TRACTS)
BANDARBAN
(HILL TRACTS)
PIROJ
PUR
KISHOREGANJ
NETRAKONA
SUNAMGANJ
SYLHET
MOULAVIBAZAR
HABIGANJ
COMILLA
MUNSHIGANJ
CHANDPUR
NOAKHALI
FENI
CHITTAGONG
COX'S BAZAR
GAZIPUR
Locations of Field Work
Barisal Metropolitan Area
Chittagong Metropolitan Area
Dhaka Metropolitan Area
Jamalpur district
Jessore district
Narayangonj district
Patuakhali district
Rajbari district
Rajshahi Metropolitan Area
Sunamgonj district
Jamalgonj upazila
Tangail district
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APPENDIX 3. CATEGORY OF ABUSERS
95
Abuser Girl victims Boy victims Victims of both sex
Son of influential man 9 9
Senior co-worker 8 8
Father and stepfather 3 3
Ustad 4 4
Employer 2 1 3
Cousin 2 1 3
Tutor 1 2 3
Husband 3 3
Grandfather 2 1 3
Uncle 4 1 5
Lover 2 2
Mustan 1 1
Factory supervisor 6 6
Neighbour 1 1
Senior boy/man of the street 4 3 7
Man with mental illness 3 3
Brother-in-law 1 1
Madrassah teacher/staff 2 2
Employer's wife and bhabi 2 2
Total 40 29 69
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96
Identity of Abuser Up to 21 to 31 to Age 41
20 years 30 years 40 years & above Total
Son of influential man 2 9 11
Senior co-worker 4 5 1 10
Father and stepfather 1 1 1 3
Ustad 2 3 5
Employer 1 2 3
Cousin 2 1 3
Tutor 2 1 3
Husband 3 3
Grandfather 3 3
Uncle 1 2 2 5
Lover 2 2
Mustan 2 2
Factory Supervisor 6 6
Neighbour 1 1
Senior boy/man of the street 1 3 2 6
Man with mental illness 1 1 2
Brother-in-law 1 1
Madrassah teacher 1 1
Employer's wife and bhabi 1 1 2
TOTAL 15 41 9 7 72
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APPENDIX 4. PERSONS INTERVIEWED
97
Dr. Nomita Haldar
Deputy Secretary
Dr. Hamida Hossain
Dr. Faustina Pereira
Director, Human Rights and Legal Services
(HRLS)
Ms. Rose-Anne Papavero
Chief of Child Protection Section
Ms. Shabnaaz Zahereen
Child Protection Officer
Child Protection Section
Mr. Obaidur Rahman
Deputy Country Representative
Ms. Laila Khandoker
Director, Programs
Ms. Salima Sarwar
Executive Director
Ms. Pushpa Rani Biswas
In-Charge, Girls Drop-in Centre
(Shomjog-II)
Mr. Azmal Huda Mithu, Cultural Coordinator
Mr. SM Pinku
Ms. Rasheda Khatun
Social Mobilizer, Socialization Centre
Ms. Wahida Banu
Chairperson
Executive Director
Dr. Kuntol Barua
Project manager, PCAR Project
Mr. Chandan Barua
Centre Manager, PCAR
Ms. Jhummi Barua, SSW, CVSAE
Ms. Tanjum Nahar, SSW, CVSAE
Ms. Roksana Begum, Counselor
Ms. Sabitree Borman, Health Worker,
CVSAE
Ms. Shikha, RSW, CVSAE
Ms. Rehana Chowdhury, Project Manager,
CVSAE
Mr. Rezaul Karim, SSW, CVSAE
Ms. Aiyesha Nargis, Job CVSAE Placement
Officer, CVSAE
Person interviewed
Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs
Ain O Shalish Kendra
BRAC
UNICEF
UNICEF
Save the Children, Sweden-Denmark
Save the Children, Australia
Association for Community Development
(ACD), Rajshahi
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF)
Aparajeyo Bangladesh (AB)
Aparajeyo Bangladesh (AB)
Chittagong
Aparajeyo Bangladesh
Dhaka
Person interviewed
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98
Ms. Parvin Akter, Counselor, CVSAE
Ms. Afroza Parvin, Counselor, CVSAE
Mr. Shafiul Alam, Manager, CSS project
Mr. Md. Abul Khaer, Project Manager
Ms. Nasima Akter, Community Service
Provider,
Child Abuse Prevention Programme
Mr. Faruque Ahmed, Head Master
Mr. Md. Monir Hossain, Assistant Teacher
Ms. Monjusree Saha
Women's Rights Coordinator
Mr. AKM Mustaque Ali
Executive Director
Mr. Md. Aminul Islam
Coordinator, Misplaced Childhood Project
Mr. Raqibul Hasan
Program Manager, Safe Night for Street
Children
Mr. Sisir Dutta
Executive Director
Ms. Jesmin Akter, Project Coordinator
Mr. Pradip Acharjee, Project Coordinator
Mr. Soroj Kanti Das
President
Ms. Binu, In-Charge, Dropping Centre
Ms. Baby Afroza, Field Organizer
Ms. Shamim Ara
Project Manager, Enhance Social Security &
Protection for the Sex Workers (PHRDG)
Mr. Obaidul Hoque
Centre-In-Charge, Kamlapur
Mr. Abdul Bari
Project Manager, PCAR
Ms. Marina Akter, Paramedics
Mr. Md. Hasibul Hasan Pallab
Project Coordinator
Shah Mohamad Ziauddin
Project Coordinator
Ms. Kamelia Rahman
Project Coordinator,
Sohel Chowdhury, Community Officer
Ms. Sreetikona Biswas, Teacher
Amrao Manush Project
Development Initiative for Social
Advancement (DISA), Dhaka
Kamal Ahmed Mazumdar School & College,
Mirpur, Dhaka
Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service, Rangpur
INCIDIN, Bangladesh
Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA)
Chittagong
Bornali-Unnoyone Shomobeto Procheshta
Chittagong
Durjoy Nari Shangha, Steel Mill Bazar,
Chittagong
Centre for Development Service (CDS),
Rajshahi
CSKS
Dhaka
Assistance for Slum Dwellers (ASD),
Rajshahi
Hard-to-Reach, UNICEF,
Rajshahi
Diner Alo, Hijra Unnoyan Mahila Shongstha,
Rajshahi
Nari Moitree
Dhaka
Person interviewed Person interviewed
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 10 31/03/2011 2 3 36
99
Ms. Rubi Khandokar
DIC Manager, SW Intervention
Ms. Mary, Teacher
Ms. Shirin, Teacher, Street Children Project
Ms. Poppy, Field Organizer
Ms. Maya, Field Organizer
Ms. Ranu Begum, President
Ms. Anisa Sircar
Sex Worker's Campaign Reporter
Mr. Md. Abdur Rouf
Project Manager
Mr. Doshorat Kumar Mandol
Project Coordinator
Ms. Hafiza Begum, Area Coordinator
Mr. Md. Shamsul Alam, Manager,
Dewanganj
Mr. Abul Kalam Azad, Program Organizer,
Dewanganj
Ms. Shahnaz Akter, Field Worker
Ms. Roksana Sultana
Senior Program Coordinator
Ms. Farzana Rashid, Psychologist
Ms. Mahabuba Lina
Executive Director
Mr. Saleh Ahmed
Executive Director
Ms. Anubhuti Shinha
Assistant Headmistress
Ms. Jaya Sikder, President
Ms. Hazera, Director
Ms. Aklima Begum Akhi
President
Executive Director
Ms. Sabitree Dhar, Field Supervisor
Mr. Md. Shasul Alam
Chief Executive
Mr. M.A. Latif Miah
Deputy Director
Mr. Mohammad Jubayer
Asst. Project Coordinator
Padakhep, Dhaka
Shishu Tori, Kamlapur, Dhaka
Bangladesh Women Health Coalition
(BWHC)
Shakti Unnoyan Shongothon
Jessore Brothel, Jessore
Jagorani Chakra Foundation, Jessore
Saviour, Jessore
BRAC, Jamalpur
Breaking the Silence, Jamalpur
Breaking the Silence
Dhaka
Utsho Bangladesh
Bandhu Social Welfare Society
YMCA, Girls High School
Sex Worker Network of Bangladesh
Durjoy Child Care Centre, Dhaka
Nari Mukti Samity, Tangail Brothel
Protirodh Project, NMS-CARE
Protirodh Project, NMS-CARE
Pasashik Parshad, Tangail
Society for Social Service (SSS), Tangail
Education and Child Development Program,
SSS, Tangail
Person interviewed Person interviewed
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100
Mr. Md. Alamgir Kabir
Communication Officer
Ms. Shamima Akter Munmun
Executive Director
Ms. Rashida Parveen
Manager, Adolescent Development Project
Ms. Sultana Ferdous
Programme Manager, Kishori Abhijan
Mr. Ashanul Shahin
Human Rights Activist and Journalist
Ms. Marzina Begum
General Secretary
Ms. Eliza Ahshan
Counselor
Ms. Sharmin, House Teacher
Ms. Jesmin, House Teacher
Mr. SM Kamrul Hassan
Legal Advisor
Mr. Pranab Barua
Project Manager, PCAR
Ms. Shubarna Das
Manager, Girls Shelter Home, PCAR
Mr. Abdul Rashid
In Charge of Human Rights and Legal
Service Program
Mr. Ruhul Bashir
Social Welfare Officer
Mr. Md. Salim Miah
Chairman
Ms. Maya Rani
UP Member
Mr. Nanna Miah
UP Member
Ms. Gouri Bhattacharjee
General Secretary
Mr. Jahangir Alam, General Secretary
Mr. Niyati Bhaumik
Teacher, Former Trainer, VARD
Mr. Ramesh Chandra Aditto
Headmaster
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF)
SBUMS, Rabari
BRAC
Dhaka
Centre for Mass Education in Science
Manob Adhikar Bastobaiyon Shongstha,
Tangail
Mukti Mahila Samity,
Daulatdia Brothel, Rajbari
PSTC
Daulatdia Brothel, Rajbari
KKS-Safe Home
SMUMS, Rajbari
Aparajeyo Bangladesh
Barisal
BRAC
Barisal
Mirzaganj, Barisal
Kakrabunia Union Parishad,
Mirjaganj, Barisal
Kakrabunia Union Parishad,
Mirjaganj, Barisal
Kakrabunia Union Parishad,
Mirjaganj, Barisal
Mahila Parishad,
Sunamganj
Udichi Bangladesh, Sunamganj
FIVDB, Jamalganj, Sunamganj
Jamalganj Girls High School
Person interviewed Person interviewed
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 109 31/03/2011 2 3 36
101
Mr. Kamrul Hasan Khondakar
Project Coordinator
Ms. Fatema Nargis
Program Manager
Ms. Rekha Begum
President,
Ms. Kajol Begum
President
Ms. Shanta Akter
Counselor
Ms. Moni Begum
President
Mr. Mohammad Enamul Hoque
Program Coordinator
Mr. Sheikh Giash Uddin Ahmed
Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator
Safiqul Islam, Program Officer
Mr. Anwar Hossain
Headmaster,
Ms. Momtaj Begum & Ms. Maleka Banu
Teacher, Registered Primary School
Mr. Mohammad Al Ameen
Marriage Registrar & Assistant Teacher
Officer-In-Charge, Palton Police Station
Officer-In-Charge, Goalondo Police Station,
Rajbari
Sub-Inspector, Posted at Victim Support
Centre, Tejgaon, Dhaka
Second Officer-In-Charge, Railway Police
Station, Kamlapur, Dhaka
Second Officer-In-Charge, Railway
Nirapotta Bahini (RNB), Kamlapur Railway
Station, Dhaka
BASE, Jamalpur
Gono Chetona, Dewanganj
Surjer Hashi Samaj Kollan Shongothon
Jamalpur Brothel, Jamalpur
Akhoy Nari Shongha
Narayanganj
Aparajeyo Bangladesh, Jamalpur
Abohelito Mohila O Shishu Unnoyan
Sangstha, Daulatdia Brothel, Rajbari
PIACT Bangladesh
Pulakandi High School, Dewanganj,
Jamalpur
Bahadurabad U.P. & Bahadurabad Senior
Madrassah, Pullakandi,
Dewanganj,Jamalpur
Bangladesh Police,
Ministry of Home Affairs
Person interviewed Person interviewed
S l Ab 31 3 2011 dI 110 31/03/2011 2 3 36
APPENDIX 5. GLOSSARY
Bhabi Elder brother's wife
Biriyani and khichuri Rice cooked with meat, vegetables or pulse
Bichar Resolution of conflict at community level shalish
Chanda Money collected to helping the poor or provide financial support to a
good cause
Den mohor Dower, the amount of money a husband pledges to allot to his wife in
the marriage contract
Eid Islamic festival
Ganja Marijuana
Hijra Individuals born male in appearance but who identify as female; may
be but are not necessarily hermaphrodite or castrated. They form a
society of their own. Unlike transvestites, hijras do not marry and
forsake memebership in mainstream society.
Huzur Religious head/leader
Imam Religious man who lead prayers in a mosque
Izzot mara Rape/loss of honour
Jat noshto Loss of purity/honour, out caste
Kameez Tunic worn by women
Kazi Marriage registrar
Khala Auntie
Kishori Abhijan Adolescent's journey. The Kishori Abhijan project aims to empower
teenagers, particularly girls
Koti Boy who takes on the 'female' role in same-sex relations
Khela kheli Mutual play/mutual sexual acts among boys
Madrassah Islamic school
Magi Female of low class, derogatory word for woman
Mastaan Violent youth, troublemaker
Nana Maternal grandfather
Nani Maternal grandmother
Noshto Spoiled
Noshto meye Spoiled girl/woman as a result of rape, illegitimate sex or prostitution
Pak, pobitro Pure and clean
Panchayet Local arbitration body
Parda Veil, practice of screening women from men
Sardarni In a brothel, a madam who owns bonded sex workers
Shagred Disciple, student, child worker
Shalish Assembly to arbitrate conflict at community level
Shelwar Loose trousers worn by girls
Shopno-dosh Night or involuntary ejaculation
Shottito noshto howa Loss of purity/honour
Thana Police station
Ustad Venerable master, teacher, senior factory worker who employs
shagred
102
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