Untitled - Terre des Hommes

Child Advocacy Forum and Bangladesh National Women’s Lawyers Association (BNWLA), are
engaged in awareness-raising activities on child abuse, child sexual abuse and child prostitution.
About thirty-five NGOs, under the banner of Girl Child Advocacy Forum, celebrate 30 September as
National Girl Child Day. INCIDIN Bangladesh develops, trains and provides a token remuneration
for male and female peer educators in order to disseminate information to and mobilize children
exploited by street-based sex work. Two-hundred-and-thirty-five organizations, under the umbrella
forum Bangladesh Shishu Adikar Forum (BSAF), have been regularly implementing short- and longterm
programmes aimed at developing awareness about various child participation issues
throughout the country. PIACT Bangladesh provides the children of sex workers with shelter,
education and health facilities and also enrols the children of the sex workers into the mainstream
school system.
The journalists’ Forum on Human Trafficking, a group of Dhaka-based journalists reporting on issues
of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and women, is also raising awareness about the
issues of, and legal provisions relating to, disclosure of information. At the district level, NGOs in
traffic-prone districts of Bangladesh are working against child prostitution and child trafficking.
There are NGOs organizing relevant district level workshops, parent and teacher meetings,
orientation for students, meetings with the media, campaign rallies and so on. A group of NGOs
drafted a Protocol on the Minimum Standard of Care for Children and will soon present it to the
government for enactment. Other NGOs, at present, are advocating towards making the Vagrant
Homes and other custodial facilities safer for children. Many NGOs are facilitating citizen’s factfinding
missions on child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation.
Many NGOs in Bangladesh work with local INGOs and UN agency offices to address the factors that
are contributing to the rise of commercial sexual exploitation of children. There are many examples:
Save the Children is working with partner NGOs against the commercial sexual exploitation of
children to prevent trafficking, child sexual abuse and exploitation; UNICEF is supporting partner
NGOs on strategies to combat prostitution; different UN agencies, like UNDP, UNICEF and
UNIFEM, have extended their support by supplying information and data through sharing good
practices; and various other collaborative initiatives between the government and NGOs are being
implemented.
UNICEF is the main international body helping to protect child rights and address related concerns.
The government of the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK continue their support for the prevention
of crimes against children and the protection of children’s rights. National UNICEF committees are
also providing significant support for the implementation of various programmes by the State Party.
Different INGOs, NGOs and community-based organizations have extended partnerships with other
donors to ensure that adopted legislation and policy, referring to the rights of the child, are in line
with articles no. 1, 11, 21, 32, 34, 35, and 36 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. For example,
USAID, UMFPA, UNICEF and BRAC are working together to implement the provisions of the second
optional protocol to the CRC on sexual exploitation.
The government of Bangladesh, through partner NGOs, is providing training for adolescents who are
engaged in floating- and hotel-based prostitution in rural areas, so that they can promote safe sex
practices and life skills among their peers. This training also aims to empower adolescents against
sexual exploitation, abuse and discrimination, as well as to make them aware of children’s and
women’s rights and to teach them interpersonal communication skills, including negotiation skills.
The government and various NGOs regularly collect information about children who have been
trafficked and returned. The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs has undertaken a project,
with the technical assistance of IOM and ADB, to develop a national strategy that ensures
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