Abuse of children

This country grew, according to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), more hostile to children in 2017 than it did in the year before. The survey finds that 339 children were killed and 593 raped last year, registering a rise by 28 per cent and 33 per cent respectively over the tallies of 2016. This is however not the whole picture of the environment in which children here discover themselves. As many as 1,710 children died in unnatural circumstances and 894 others were subjected to sexual harassment. Again, the rate of such incidents recorded a higher percentage than before. Calling it child rights violation perhaps is not enough for this hardly expresses the perversion, mental bankruptcy and social degradation involved in the process. Even in the animal world, except in rare cases, the little ones are not killed and abused. Is society here turning worse than those of animals?

Care for the young is innate both in man and animals. In fact off-springs are considered alter ego which is the means to sustaining lineage. As a civilised animal, man has the added responsibility to live in peace with each other. Children are unlikely to draw wrath because they are innocent and do not cause grievous harm to others. So why should they be targeted for annihilation? Greed and perverted instincts are responsible for physical or sexual attacks on the unsuspecting young ones. Of the abused, hardly anyone knows why they are so victimised. If the grown-ups have to honour a social contract protected by an internationally accepted legal system, the little ones could not care less for such provisions. They are the angels who dance on the tunes the Earth, wind and water together play.

Tougher laws may have some impact on abuse of children but those are not going to bring about a solution to the problem. The predatory nature of a subspecies of fiendish type among the human kind has to be tempered with some moral and cultural remedies. Here is a society that has come off its mooring and the ethical consideration has taken leave of the majority of the population. This trend is on the rise because of widening social and economic disparities among a population and nations all across the globe. Commerce prevails where international relations are concerned. So, conscience and fellow feeling have now become a casualty.

Even without becoming an egalitarian society, a people can ensure socio-economic justice for all to a large extent. This means not bargaining for equal but equitable distribution of wealth among the people. This again has to be complemented by creation of opportunities for all according to their merit and skills. The overall cultural ambience needs to be adjusted and readjusted in order to maintain a balance between the indigenous and alien influences. In fact, technological leap forward warrants people are also prepared for acceptance of the same in a reasonable manner so that they do not lose their heads. It seems the invasion of modern gadgets has sent many people's heads into a spin and the result is aberrations of all types the country is becoming a witness to. Child abuse is just one of those.