Rethinking child protection: From reaction to prevention

The recent rape and subsequent suicide of 10-year-old Md Abdullah have once again surfaced a deeply uncomfortable reality— children in Bangladesh remain vulnerable to sexual violence, and boys are no exception. According to media reports, Abdullah, a student of Alokito Quran International Hifz Madrasah, took his own life after being sexually assaulted by Shihab Hussain.

Unfortunately, this is not the only tragedy Bangladesh has witnessed. According to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), from January to April 2026, 94 girls and 15 boys were reported as victims of rape. Not only that, during the same period, 34 attempted rape cases and 12 incidents of sexual harassment by teachers were reported.

Beyond the immediate tragedy, Abdullah's case exposes a neglected dimension of the child protection discourse. While public attention focuses on violence against women and girls, boys are also vulnerable to sexual abuse. Therefore, building an effective child protection system requires recognising and responding to the risks faced by all children, regardless of gender.

In this case, the state and law enforcement agencies demonstrated a prompt response, arrested the accused, initiated an investigation, and sent him to jail after remand (The Business Standard, 25 May 2026). The judiciary has also delivered judgments that have clarified the applicable legal principles in such cases. In a judgment in Chattogram, a madrasa teacher was sentenced to death for the rape of six students and for sexually assaulting them multiple times (The Business Standard, 04 June 2025).

Yet this is precisely where the contradiction lies—if law enforcement agencies can investigate, if they arrest the accused, and if the courts can deliver justice, why do similar incidents continue to emerge? The answer may be that Bangladesh has a capable response system to child abuse after a crime takes place, but it remains significantly less prepared to prevent child abuse before it occurs.

Our public conversation on sexual violence against children remains reactive. Following every incident, attention focuses on victims and punishment. We speak about the victims' age, their socio-economic background, vulnerability, trauma, their family's sufferings and so on. We also speak about the weakness of justice system; we demand exemplary punishment. All these angles of discussion are necessary. However, if we think about a prevention-oriented approach, we must ask additional questions— what warning signs existed before the abuse occurred? Could the abuse have been identified earlier? Did the responsible authorities overlook behavioral signs? Do we have safe reporting mechanisms if any warning sign is identified? Are our parents and caregivers aware of the risks? Most importantly, do we have proper understanding of the individuals who commit these crimes to identify risks before another child becomes a victim? These questions rarely receive necessary attention.

To devise a preventive mechanism, understanding offenders should be considered as important as understanding victims. This is not about sympathising with perpetrators; rather, it is a call for evidence-based prevention mechanism. In many countries, governments invest substantial resources in understanding the behaviour of terrorists, sexual offenders, and other high-risk perpetrators. Researchers examine pathways to offending, behavioural indicators, risk factors, and the environmental conditions that enable harmful behaviour. Such research helps institutions identify risks, strengthen safeguards, and develop more effective prevention strategies. The key argument of this article is therefore to emphasise that preventing sexual violence against children requires the same level of serious attention to understand how and why such crimes occur.

It is important that both our society and the state have been paying considerable attention in showing sympathy to victims and their families and making commitments for rapid punishment of offenders but understanding how such crimes emerge in the first place is not being prioritised. Do we really know about the psychological pattern of offenders who commit crimes against children, their childhood, their grooming strategies, the institutional weaknesses they exploit, or the warning signs that often precede abuse?

These questions should be answered through empirical study because prevention requires proper understanding and a holistic approach. Therefore, here we argue that a prevention-centred child protection system must be built on four pillars.

Legal protection: The recent case of Abdullah has once again highlighted concerns regarding the legal recognition and protection of all victims of sexual violence, including boys. Human rights advocates and legal scholars have argued that Bangladesh should periodically review its legal framework to ensure that it adequately reflects contemporary realities and provides equal protection to all children (New Age, 18 March 2025).

This should not be viewed merely as a technical legal debate. The definition of rape under Section 375 of the Penal Code 1860 shapes how sexual violence is recognised and recorded within the justice system. Consequently, legal definitions can influence both access to justice and the ability of institutions to identify patterns of abuse and strengthen preventive responses.

Institutional safeguarding: The cases of sexual violence against boys in madrasa settings should not be considered simply as isolated criminal acts. They should be treated as warning signs that require institutional review. This does not mean blaming or stigmatising individual institutions. Millions of students receive education through these academic institutions, and the majority of teachers are dedicated to their students' wellbeing. Nevertheless, responsible governance requires acknowledging patterns when they emerge. If repeated allegations emerge around particular institutional environments, policymakers have a responsibility to examine whether oversight mechanisms, safeguarding protocols, and reporting systems are functioning effectively.

Hearing the Writ Petition No. 5916 of 2008, Bangladesh High Court (13 May 2009) issued a set of guidelines defining sexual delinquency to prevent any kind of physical, mental or sexual harassment of women, girls and children at their workplaces and educational institutions. The HC again gave a directive on 11 January 2023 to implement the guideline. Now the government should pay proper attention to instruct every educational institution to establish clear child protection system, confidential reporting mechanisms, safeguarding focal points, and regular external monitoring. Children must know where they can seek help. Parents must know how complaints are handled. Institutions must understand that protecting children is not secondary to education; it is fundamental responsibility.

Research on offenders and abuse patterns: perhaps the most missing question in Bangladesh's child protection landscape is why so little attention is devoted to understanding the offender. Every tragedy mobilises  investigators, prosecutors, journalists, activists, and policymakers. Yet comparatively little attention is given to understanding the pathways that produce offenders and the institutional conditions that enable them. This imbalance limits our ability to prevent future crimes.

Therefore, Bangladesh should consider a multi-disciplinary research initiative on child sexual abuse and institutional safeguarding. Such an initiative would help the government examine offender behaviour, grooming patterns, risk factors, institutional vulnerabilities, and barriers to reporting. Such research does not predict criminal behaviour with certainty, nor does it stigmatise individuals. Rather, it helps institutions recognise patterns, strengthen safeguards, and intervene earlier. The objective should be to generate evidence capable of informing prevention mechanism.

Community awareness and early intervention: parents, teachers, religious leaders, community members, and even students themselves should be equipped with the necessary awareness to identify warning signs and report to the responsible authorities before abuse takes place. Prevention cannot be ensured only by law enforcement agencies unless a culture of prevention is instilled across the society.

French sociologist Émile Durkheim argued in The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) that recurring forms of crime should be understood as social facts that reveal deeper weaknesses within social organisation. Similarly, Michel Foucault's work on institutions and power reminds us that abuse often flourishes where authority is concentrated, oversight is weak, and vulnerable individuals have limited opportunities to report wrongdoing (Foucault, 1975).

Considering these theoretical frameworks, the recent incidents should not simply be understood as criminal acts committed by a few miscreants. They should be treated as warning signs leading us to see the broader weaknesses in child protection landscape, institutional accountability, legal frameworks, and prevention strategies.

Bangladesh has already demonstrated its ability to formulate necessary laws and policies, establish judicial arrangements, and impose severe punishments. The challenge before us now is whether we can develop the knowledge, institutions, and legal protections necessary to ensure that no child is harmed. The true measure of success is not how many offenders are punished after a tragedy. It is how we can establish preventive mechanisms that protect children before a tragedy ever takes place.

Mushfika Jahan is the Founder of the World Humanist Foundation and Mental Health Advocate. She can be reached at [email protected]. Md Abul Basar is an Anthropologist and Governance Expert, serves as the Team Leader at a Switzerland-based international organization. He can be reached at [email protected].

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.