SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

including Shakti Samuha and Women Rehabilitation Centre, have been monitoring the arrest
and imprisonment of girls and women in the Kathmandu Valley. No other regular monitoring
of child sexual abuse and exploitation is taking place in the country.
6.4.3 Legislative changes
Several legal organizations are advocating at senior levels of government to address gaps in
legislation on the abuse and exploitation of women and children. These include the Forum for
Women, Law and Development, Centre for Legal Research and Resource Development,
Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre, and Himalayan Human Rights Monitors. These
organizations have primarily focused on strengthening Nepal’s legislation to address the
issues of violence against women, prostitution and human trafficking, among others. There
has been little work to initiate legislation for the protection of children against sexual abuse,
with the exception of rape.
6.4.4 Prevention through advocacy and awareness-raising
A number of NGOs work for the prevention of child sexual abuse and trafficking through
advocacy in the community and with government. Child Workers in Nepal advocates for
children’s rights with a focus on child labour, children on the street, trafficked children,
children in conflict with the law and sexual exploitation of children. Established in 1987,
CWIN was the first organization in Nepal to address the concerns of boys in addition to girls.
It has conducted extensive research and advocacy on boys’ issues.
Para-legal committees were originally established in the late 1990s as part of a programme
called the ‘community surveillance system against trafficking’, established by the Centre for
Legal Research and Resource Development, 299 and have since spread to many areas of the
country. This has proved to be a successful model of community involvement in preventing
child sexual abuse and trafficking. In this community-based programme, now supported by
UNICEF and other agencies, local action groups are organized to address sexual abuse,
violence and trafficking in their villages. The para-legal committees carry out advocacy and
awareness-raising activities for prevention and work on early detection of child abuse by
networking with health workers, teachers and local facilitators. The focus of the committees
on the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys is not known, although they have been known to
respond to incidents of boys abducted for military service. The committees are supported by
district resource groups, comprised of lawyers, social mobilizers and local government
officials. These groups establish, train, monitor and support the village-based para-legal
committees. 300
A network of NGOs based in Kathmandu, the Children at Risk Networking Group, conducts
research and disseminates information on child sexual abuse and exploitation. Bal Bikas
Samaj, a child rights organization in the city of Biratnagar, conducts awareness-raising
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Sangroula, Y. and Centre for Legal Research and Resource, 2001, ‘Trafficking of girls and women in Nepal:
Building a community surveillance system for prevention’.
300
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2008, ‘South Asia in action: Preventing and responding to child
trafficking: Child rights-based programme practices’.
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