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

NPA was facilitated by an advisory Core Group, under the leadership of the Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs (MWCA), with UNICEF Bangladesh acting as secretariat.
Members included the Department of Social Services, Action against Trafficking and Sexual
Exploitation of Children (ATSEC) Bangladesh, BNWLA, Concern Bangladesh, INCIDIN
Bangladesh, ILO and Save the Children Alliance. As part of its development, consultations
with children and sub-national meetings with local stakeholders were held.
This NPA is notable in South Asia for directly addressing non-commercial sexual abuse as
well as sexual exploitation and for its comprehensive presentation of critical issues in
protection, prevention, recovery and reintegration. It also has specific sections on perpetrators
and on child participation. 205 In its comprehensiveness, the NPA addresses many issues
important to boys, including measures to address the risks of migration, abuse by staff
working in residential institutions, abuse-reporting mechanisms, creation of ‘safe havens’ for
at-risk children and child-friendly law enforcement procedures.
The initial impact of the NPA was primarily limited to non-government stakeholders such as
INCIDIN Bangladesh, which initiated ‘safe haven’ night shelters for boys (discussed below),
and BNWLA, which sought to strengthen protection mechanisms in its residential care
facilities. Government stakeholders, particularly the Department of Social Services under the
MWCA and the Ministry of Home Affairs initiated activities as per NPA recommendations
later in its timeframe and continuing into 2008 and 2009. These include the development of
standards and guidelines, including abuse protection mechanisms, for reintegration practice,
by the Department of Social Services with the assistance of UNICEF, and the development of
a child-friendly Victim Support Centre operated by law enforcement under the Ministry of
Home Affairs, with the assistance of UNDP.
The Bangladesh National Plan of Action for Children 2004-2009 is, by definition, a document
of wider scope. The time, national and international expertise, and extensive child
participation used to develop the National Plan of Action against the Sexual Abuse and
Exploitation of Children were not available for the development of its chapter related to
sexual abuse and exploitation, titled Protection from Abuse, Exploitation and Violence. 206
Strategically, the major interventions of the National Plan of Action for Children are general
and do not provide sufficient reference to protect boys. The intervention “build social
awareness, sensitization of child rights and protection concerns, and changes in attitudes
towards children” adds “particularly girls”. The interventions include “prioritize
programming for girls who are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and violence”, 207 thereby
excluding boys. However, these deficiencies are remedied by the comprehensiveness of the
NPA against sexual abuse and exploitation.
Sectoral policies and programmes include the establishment of an Implementation and
Monitoring Committee to coordinate and monitor the NPA. This committee is divided into
four sub-committees responsible for implementing the activities designated in the NPA.
205
National Plan of Action against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children including Trafficking 2002-
2007.
206
National Plan of Action for Children Bangladesh 2004-2009.
207 Ibid.
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