Child abuse, deaths higher in 2021

Industry Desk: Last year, a total of 1,117 girl children were raped in Bangladesh which is a whopping 78.43% increase compared to the previous year.
Besides, some 272 girls were killed in the corresponding year, mainly as a result of domestic violence, family feuds, attempts to remove assault evidence etc., according to a report of the National Girl Child Advocacy Forum (NGCAF) published yesterday.
There were 26,695 rape cases across the country from 2016 to October 2020, while in 2020 alone, the total number of rapes was 626.
Reportedly, some 100 of the rape victims were disabled children, 45 were killed after sexual assault and around 155 were gang-raped.
NGCAF Editor Nasima Akter Jolly presented the “Girl Child Situation Monitoring Report 2021” at a press briefing at the National Press Club. Legal action was initiated over some 804 rape and attempted rape cases but after analysing them it was found that most of the detainees have been released on bail and continue to pose various threats to the family of the victim.
Meanwhile, some 35 girls, including domestic help, were abused in different forms, including rape. Of them, five were killed, 18 were victims of physical violence and 12 of sexual violence.
The year 2021 also recorded 242 suicide cases committed by girl children. Among them, 61 committed suicide over amour and 56 due to conflict with family.
The report observed that the closure of educational institutions has resulted in heightened depression among children.

At the same time, the fact that there is no safe haven to report sexual assault-rape incidents has acted as an influence on suicide.

The organisation (NGCAF) collected information on the abuse of girls aged 0-19 from 24 national, local and online dailies published between January and December 2021.