77 percent schoolboys in capital indulge in porn

Almost 77 percent of the male schoolchildren in Dhaka city are involved in watching, sharing and producing pornography according to a study, said Abdullah Al Mamun, programme manager of the governance division of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), in a seminar yesterday.
Males of the age group of 12-25 were found to be most susceptible to these activities, he added, citing the study done by MJF.
"Girl children are often tricked or forced into being the subjects of such material," said Mamun in his keynote address.
In addition, children forced into prostitution are often also victims of the business of pornography, speakers discussed.
The seminar titled "Implementation of Optional Protocol to the UNCRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography: Role of Stakeholders" was held in the Biam auditorium.
"This issue remains unaddressed because the parents refuse to accept that their children may be involved," said Mahmudul Kabir, country director of Terre des Homes-Netherlands.
Meher Afroz Chumki, state minister for women and children affairs, said while such acts may be prevented using the Pornography Control Act activated last year, social awareness is a more effective way to deal with the issue.
The legal procedures to deal with children should be sensitised so as not to affect them negatively, recommended Abdullah Al-Mamun. Dr Mohammad Shahjahan, secretary general of the Bureau of Human Rights Bangladesh, spoke among others.