Violence against children widespread, undetected

Violence against children knows no frontier, cutting across all types of diversity in culture, class, education, income and ethnic origin, said the study.

"In Bangladesh, the number of cases coming into public view on violence against children are alarming, and more cases are out of our view. The government and other agencies are taking steps to stop or reduce the incidences of abuse, but there is still a long way to go," said Edward Thomas Espey, country director, Plan International, said at the launching ceremony of the study in the city.

The study concludes that for many children violence is routine, a part of their daily reality and stressed an end to adult justification of violence against children, whether accepted as 'tradition' or disguised as discipline.

Speaking at the programme, Kamaluddin Ahmed, secretary to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, referred to the National Plan of Action (NPA) 2005-10 and reiterated the government's commitment to protecting children from all forms of abuse and violence.

UN Resident Coordinator Renata Lok Dessalien described the background and participatory process that led to the global report in which Bangladesh was an active participant. "Prevention of child marriage and physical and humiliating punishment are the thematic focus areas of the Bangladesh Action Plan."

The study was carried out in one rural site in Kishoreganj and two urban sites in Dhaka city.

The study concentrated on violence on five settings -- the home and family, schools and educational settings, care and judicial institutions, the workplace and the community.

Ichchey Media Group, a children's media house, presented a monitoring report based on content analysis of five major Bangla national dailies between February and December 2006. According to the report, there were 798 reported cases of 12 different kinds of violence against children ranging from rape and murder to physical and psychological persecution.

Unicef Bangladesh Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault emphasised a multi-sectoral and multi-pronged approach to address the multidimensional and complex issues surrounding violence against children.