Third and Fourth Periodic Report on CRC - Unicef

<strong>Third</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Fourth</strong> <strong>Periodic</strong> <strong>Report</strong>
The empowerment of adolescent girls project Kishori Abhijan exp<strong>and</strong>ed its intervention sites from 14 to 26
districts. The interventions led to positive results, providing life-skills based training to girls, through the peer-topeer
approach reaching 100,000 adolescents, mainly girls. Livelihood <strong>and</strong> basic economic skills training were
also provided to 25,000 adolescent girls.
Different NGOs are also working to prevent <strong>and</strong> protect children from abuse <strong>and</strong> exploitation. Some among
them are working with sex workers <strong>and</strong> their children with special focus on their rehabilitation in the society. A
survey on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children was completed in 2006 in partnership with ILO-IPEC.
8.4.4 Other forms of exploitation
One particularly vicious <strong>and</strong> damaging form of violence is acid attacks which have traumatic consequences,
scarring the victims physically (disfigurement), psychologically <strong>and</strong> socially for life. Acid attacks are mainly a
crime against children <strong>and</strong> young women, although more recently, boys <strong>and</strong> young men have also been targets
of this crime. Since the enactment of The Acid Control Act, 2002 <strong>and</strong> The Acid Crimes Prevention Act, 2002,
the incidence of acid attack has gone down. The One-Stop-Crisis Centres (OCC) in Dhaka <strong>and</strong> other five
Divisional Headquarters has been set up together with a Hotline System for women vulnerable to act of
violence. In January 2006, a DNA profiling laboratory was established in Dhaka with five screening laboratories
at Divisional levels for identifying perpetrators <strong>and</strong> ascertaining parentage.
The most pervasive form of violence within a marriage is dowry related violence. Women in Bangladesh marry
at a relatively early age associated with the dem<strong>and</strong> of dowry. Failure to provide the desired price results in
violence that ranges from the threat of divorce <strong>and</strong> ab<strong>and</strong>onment to physical acts of beating or even murder.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980 forbids the giving <strong>and</strong> taking of dowry <strong>and</strong> The Suppression of Violence against
Women <strong>and</strong> Children Act, 2000 provides strict measures against dowry related violence.
8.4.5 Sale, trafficking <strong>and</strong> abduction
An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year worldwide. An estimated 2 million children, the majority
of them girls, are sexually exploited in the commercial sex industry (UNICEF Fact sheet).
The most widely employed procuring strategies include, kidnapping, abduction, purchase of young girls from
their families, marriage contracts, promises of jobs abroad <strong>and</strong> affected friendship <strong>and</strong> love.
Women <strong>and</strong> girls are trafficked annually to India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, <strong>and</strong> the United Arab Emirates
(U.A.E.). Bangladeshi boys were also trafficked into the U.A.E. <strong>and</strong> Qatar. Women <strong>and</strong> children in Bangladesh
are prone to trafficking while migrating from rural to urban areas.
Inter-Ministerial/Inter-Organizational Case Monitoring Committee in the Ministry of Home Affairs at the
national level meets at least once every fortnight <strong>and</strong> selects some pending cases on trafficking in women <strong>and</strong>
children in the country <strong>and</strong> ensures quick disposal of these cases. The District Monitoring Committees headed
by Deputy Commissioners in turn selects at least five pending cases <strong>and</strong> monitor those regularly for quick
disposal.
The Inter-Ministerial/Inter-Organisational Anti-Trafficking Committee led by the Secretary of the Ministry of
Home Affairs holds meeting once a month to monitor the progress of the activities undertaken by different
ministries <strong>and</strong> departments to combat trafficking in Bangladesh.
The GO-NGO National Co-ordination Committee for Trafficking in Women <strong>and</strong> Children is involved in
implementing <strong>and</strong> monitoring programmes to combat trafficking.
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