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

Certainly, older boys often have the physical as well as social means of protection that girls
lack: boys can physically resist abuse; they are less easily confined and better able to run
away from a confined exploitive situation; and they can more easily seek physical support
from peers to resist or attack abusers. They are also likely to have better opportunities for
social integration following sexual abuse and exploitation, for they often retain the social and
economic advantages of patriarchal society: they bear less long-term stigma, their abuse is
more likely to be overlooked by family and community, and they depend for social integration
less on marriage than on employment, which remains available. Successful incomegeneration
programmes with boys exploited in prostitution have proven that most boys can
find employment, get married and lead ‘normal’ lives. 25
At the same time, the apparently greater freedom and power that boys have are also a source
of vulnerability. Their greater mobility promotes separation from family, which can result in a
lack of protection. Migrating children and children living on the street are among the most
vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Boys’ sense of freedom and caregivers’ attitudes
towards them also make them less likely to seek help and be more resistant to long-term
support and treatment.
For many boys, male gender dominance is an oppression as well as an advantage. Boys face
constant pressure to assert their masculinity, leading them to deny that abuse occurred,
disguise their fear or sadness, and refuse to accept help. All of this can hinder psychological
recovery.
Gender roles that require males to be controlling and aggressive can lead to sexual abuse. For
example, in territorial conflicts among children of the street over sleeping places such as train
stations, sexual abuse is often a tool to gain dominance over weaker boys. 26 Similarly, the
victory of a street gang in urban gang fights might be demonstrated by the rape of the weaker
members of the opposing gang. 27
The attitudes of family and caregivers towards boy victims of sexual abuse and the treatment
boys receive often differ from that of girls. Families may believe that boys, being ‘strong’, are
less affected by the abuse. 28 Boys’ more apparent physical maturity acts as a disadvantage in
their relationships with adult society, as adolescent boys are more likely than girls to be
considered ‘adults’ by police and judicial authorities, leading to treatment without the care
that is due to children. According to social norms in South Asia, post-pubescent boys are
considered to be adults, which is reinforced by boys’ wish to appear older and stronger than
their age. When apprehended by police or appearing in court, they are more readily held
25
Frederick, J., ‘Teaching the boys hard skills: the Don Bosco Technical Centre’, In J. Frederick (ed.), 2000,
‘Fallen Angels: The sex workers of South Asia’.
26
ECPAT International and INCIDIN Bangladesh, 2006, ‘The boys and the bullies: A situational analysis report
on prostitution of boys in Bangladesh’.
27
Personal correspondence with A.K.M. Mustaque Ali and Hasan Rokibul, INCIDIN Bangladesh.
28
Save the Children Sweden-Denmark (Slugget, C.), 2003, ‘Mapping of psychosocial support for girls and boys
affected by child sexual abuse in four countries in South and Central Asia’.
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