Child murder, rape on rise
FE Report | Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Incidents of murder, rape and suicide of children have marked a significant rise in the first six months of the current year comparing to the same period last year.
The Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF) data showed that at least 216 children were killed, 351 minor girls raped and 170 children committed suicide from January to June this year.
It also revealed that 157 children were killed, 294 raped and 95 children committed suicide during the same period of 2017.
The number of total rape and murder incidents was 85 and 201 respectively in 2012 while 150 and 180 in 2013, 199 and 366 in 2014, 521 and 292 in 2015, 446 and 265 in 2016 and 593 and 399 in 2017.
Apart from these incidents, 132 children went missing, 81 were kidnapped and 40 raped after murder during the January-June period this year.
The number of children murdered after kidnap and gang-rape was 17 and 53 respectively during the period, according to the data available with BSAF, a national network of 267 non-governmental organisations.
A total of 358 children were killed in road accidents and 68 by lightning strikes in the first six months of the current calendar year.
While talking to the FE, BSAF director Abdus Shahid Mahmood expressed his grave concern over the increasing trend in torture and violence against children in the country.
"It is very unfortunate that children are killed after rape," he added.
The BSAF director also said it is the government's responsibility to bring the offenders to justice.
The culture of impunity is the main reason for a rise in such incidents, he said, adding that the law enforcement agencies should play an active role in this regard.
Mr Mahmood said a number of students got frustrated and committed suicide due to poor performance in English and maths in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.
Advocate Md Khurshid Alam Khan, senior prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Commission, told the FE that this is absolutely failure of the law enforcement agencies to address the issue properly.
Both the prosecution and investigation officers should play a key role in convicting the people accused of such offences, he said.
Due to lack of capacity of the prosecution and investigation officers, the rate of conviction in the country is very insignificant, he added.