Child marriages, rapes and rape attempts, as reported in the media, saw a sharp rise last year compared to that of 2015, says a new survey conducted by the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).
Almost all the victims were girls. At least 22 children died and 69 were seriously injured out of the 304 rapes of children in 2016. Only six of the victims were boys, 259 were girls and the sex of the rest was not mentioned in the media reports.
There were 290 rapes of children the previous year. Besides, the newspapers reported 83 cases of child marriages last year, which was only 11 in 2015.
Of the victims of 2016, four girls died -- one committed suicide failing to accept the marriage, one was killed by parents, one was killed by the in-laws for failure to pay dowry and the reason for the other's death could not be known.
“The girls were forced to marry men nearly double their ages,” said Abdullah Al Mamun, programme coordinator of MJF, while presenting the survey report at the Jatiya Press Club Thursday.
The survey report “Bangladesh Child Rights Situation 2016” was prepared on the basis of reports published in six major national newspapers. He said the report does not show the actual situation of children in the country, but reflects on the trend.
Abdullah Al Mamun said the newspapers reported 408 incidents of repression on children, which was 393 in 2015.
At least 11 children were killed and 397 were injured in such incidents of violence in 2016.
According to the survey report, 1,536 children were affected by the lack of medical treatment, wrong treatment, unknown diseases and other sicknesses.
Also, 52,300 children were affected by various problems, including shortage of teachers in schools, education materials and excessive school fees.
Road accidents, murder and murder attempts, kidnap or kidnap attempts, suicide, acid and political violence affected fewer numbers of children in 2016 than that of 2015.