Untitled - Terre des Hommes

isolation. Children are paid less and are more willing to work under slave-like conditions than adults,
but generally the children never receive the full payment that was promised them. A large
proportion, about 80% of Bangladesh’s dried fish, is produced here. 17
The Forest Department and Officers have authority on these protected islands. Even though the
dried-fish industry is not allowed to employ children, it is difficult for anyone to gain access to these
isolated and protected areas in order to monitor the situation. The forest officers typically receive
some royalties from the fish sold and so have a vested interest in the production of dried fish. 18
The National Sample Survey of Child Labour reported in 2002 - 2003 that 14,868 children - 12,776 boys
and 2,093 girls - were employed in ocean and coastal fishing. In reality, this number is most likely
larger. (Blanchet, Biswas, and Dabu) estimated in 2006 that the number of workers below the age of
18, involved in the dried-fish industry alone, would surpass this number and, that even within the
dried-fish industry, this number was low. If shrimp production, which allegedly employs thousands
of children, is taken into account, the real number is likely to be a great deal higher.
Health hazards for these children are numerous. The lack of access to safe drinking water or even
fresh water causes excessive amounts of diarrhoea and skin diseases. Children are injured while
cutting trees to build camps, while walking on fish bones and while tying up the fish. Due to the poor
sanitation, small injuries can readily develop into more serious problems. The costly and inadequate
health care on these remote islands means that injured children often go untreated. The children work
long hours and are often under slept, adding to the prevalence of injuries. Moreover, children
frequently drown during cyclones. If they try to escape, they are usually beaten.
b. Involvement of children in prostitution, production of pornography or
pornographic performances
Child prostitution in Bangladesh occurs in organized brothels as well as on the streets. There are
children who have chosen this type of work due to poverty and the lack of alternatives, as well as
children that have been forced into prostitution. Child prostitution is connected to domestic work and
internal trafficking. The children of sex workers are a particularly vulnerable group. Sexual
exploitation remains a hidden topic due to the stigma attached to it. Very little is known about the
sexual exploitation of boys.
Scope
There are an estimated 150,000 women and girls involved in commercial sex work; there is however
no reliable data available and no data at all for certain groups, including boys (National Policy on
Children (draft)). The total population of Tangail brothel in northern Bangladesh is estimated at 1500,
including 800 active sex workers and a few hundred children 19 . The girls and women working at this
brothel were forced into sex work at as young an age as ten 20 . There are fourteen large-scale brothels
in Bangladesh, with an estimated total of 10,000 active sex workers and a total brothel population of
20,000 21 . There are approximately 1900 children living and working with their mothers in the brothels
of Bangladesh 22 .
17
Mr. S.R. Chowdhury and Mr. M. Khorshed (Prodipan)
18
Mr. S.R. Chowdhury and Mr. M. Khorshed (Prodipan)
19
Mr. Abdul Hamid Bhuiyan (Society for Social Service)
20
Interviews with sex workers at Tangail brothel
21
Mr. Abdul Hamid Bhuiyan (Society for Social Service)
22
Ms. Wahida Banu (Aparajeyo Bangladesh)
21