Editor’s Note
While work continues on many fronts to combat child sexual abuse, the unfortunate reality on the ground is that on average, three children are being raped in Bangladesh each day, according to statistics of the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum.
That is, of course, taking the liberty to assume children and parents report cases—most go unnoticed and unreported for years. But the trauma lives on.
The system, it seems, is also not doing enough to bring the perpetrators to book. Of the 3,136 cases of child rape filed over the last four years, there were convictions in only 156 cases.
But it is not just the system. Child sexual abuse continues due to a compound affect. Families, law, society—everyone fails the child. Research has shown the primary caregivers of the children fail time and again to take action when children report sexual abuse.
When a child confides in an adult, they are seeking the kind of help that only an adult can give—psychological and medical intervention, legal redress, and physical safety. However, societal taboo and the systems in place often results in adults silencing the child, lending protection to the abuser. This is especially the case if the latter belongs to the victim's immediate circle/family.
In this special magazine on child sexual abuse, brought out jointly by The Daily Star and BRAC, we explore all these issues, and more. It investigates why children who undergo sexual abuse cannot speak up, and what happens if they do. It takes a look at the law enforcement units who are still not able to express child-friendly attitudes. It studies the damaging, long-term psychological impacts of child sexual abuse.
But beyond taking the audience through the multi-faceted issues of childhood sexual abuse, we also want this magazine to be a resource for parents and caregivers. While the stories work to provide caregivers with insight on the problems surrounding this issue, certain pages of the magazine are designed to be reused as pull-out posters. The inside flap of the front cover can be used as a handy guide in teaching children the differences between a "good touch" and a "bad touch", while the back flap contains lists of phone numbers and addresses that caregivers can reach out to, if requiring help. The centrefold seeks to educate parents and caregivers on how to detect that a child may have undergone sexual abuse.
We hope this magazine acts both as a reminder of how far we have to go and what each of us have to do in order to keep our children safe from abuse.
A joint initiative by BRAC and The Daily Star
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