Sexual abuse of Bangladeshi street-connected children: A mixed methods study

Sexual abuse is a grave concern for millions of street-connected children in Bangladesh. Perpetrator-enabling street environments create heightened risks for children though their victimizations have barely been investigated.

This study aims to explore sexual victimization of street-connected children in Bangladesh.

A total of 592 children from Dhaka city participated in the survey, and 32 of them participated in qualitative interviews.

A concurrent mixed-methods design, comprising a quantitative survey and phenomenological interview, was adopted to estimate magnitude, contexts, processes, and perpetrators of sexual abuse.

Findings demonstrated a wide range of sexual abuse and rape. Seventy-five percent of the children were subjected to forced kissing, 99 % were victims of salacious talk, and 84 % were victims of rape. Linear regression analysis identified gender, shelter, age, and poverty as the significant predictors of sexual abuse (F = 64.262, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analyses identified age (children 13 years or older), night shelter, and gender were significant predictors of rape. The overall model was found to be significant (χ2(df = 3} = 54.301, p < 0.001). Qualitative findings showed that children were sexually assaulted by adults, older youth, police, and strangers. Though children could be victims at any time, "nights are most fearful of all time…" as shared by a participant.

Findings imply that sleeping in an unprotected place is a strong predictor of increased rape, and prevention requires immediate housing of these children in safe places of their choice.