1,933 children lost their lives to torture in 6 months

Information about the Children’s Rights Forum and Children’s Welfare Council

❐ Special Correspondent

The picture of child abuse in Bangladesh is becoming increasingly horrific. The statistics released by the Bangladesh Child Rights Forum and the Child Welfare Council, based on reports published in the country’s five national dailies – Ittefaq, Prothom Alo, Naya Diganta, Daily Star and Business Standard – from January to June 2025, show that 1,933 children lost their lives due to abuse in these six months.

During the same period, 2,744 children were raped and another 2,159 were physically abused. The number of victims was higher among girls.

According to the information provided by the two organizations, currently around 151,000 cases related to child abuse are pending in the Women and Child Abuse Prevention Tribunals. The victim families are facing extreme suffering as these cases are not resolved due to long delays.

To highlight this situation, the Children’s Rights Forum and the Children’s Welfare Council jointly released the report at a press conference organized at the conference room of the Bangladesh Child Welfare Council at 11 am on Thursday.

The event was presided over by Dr. Hamidul Haque, Chairperson of the Children’s Rights Forum.

Dr. Hamidul Haque said that child abuse is not only happening in the family but also in the social sphere at an increasing rate. It is necessary to strengthen activities at the school and community levels to increase awareness on this issue, especially in district cities.

He emphasized the strict implementation of the Women and Children’s Violence Prevention Act and the Children’s Act.

The press conference was addressed by Khairuzzaman Kamal, Vice Chairman of the Forum and Secretary General of Bangladesh Human Rights Journalists Forum, Md. Monirul Alam, General Secretary of Shishu Kalyan Parishad, Joint Secretary Naser Iqbal Jadu, Executive Member Dr. Afroza Parveen and Director Khandaker Riaz Hossain.

The speakers said that effective government action is essential to stop violence against children. In addition, the full implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child must be ensured. They called for collective initiatives to build a child-friendly society.