Bangladesh
Children in Bangladesh
Nearly 42.1% of children in Bangladesh live below the poverty line. Approximately 4.4 million children in Bangladesh are engaged in child labour which is often seen in agriculture, garment factories and brick kilns.
Approximately 51% of women aged 20-24 reported being married before the age of 18. Early married girls often face violence and sexual exploitation. Close to 34.87% of girls are reported to have dropped out of secondary school due to socio-economic constraints.
40% of Bangladesh's sex trafficking survivors exploited abroad are children. The nation is a source, transit and destination for child trafficking.
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is primarily responsible for children’s issues in Bangladesh. They implement the National Child Policy to enforce child protection through key laws like the Children Act (2013), the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929) and provisions in the Bangladesh Penal Code (1860).
Child rights situation in Bangladesh remain a pressing concern, with significant gaps in areas like protection from abuse and exploitation, access to education, freedom from child labor, and the eradication of child marriage. These issues are further compounded by the impacts of climate change, which disproportionately affect vulnerable children.
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Our Work in Bangladesh
We ensure the protection of children of readymade garment factory workers through a community and child-based protection mechanism. We encourage the reporting and redressal of child exploitation cases and provide children access to safe learning spaces. We build capacities of garment factory workers, employees and other institutions to ensure a strong child protection mechanism.
We work to break harmful norms surrounding sexual health and reproductive rights through awareness campaigns often led by children through interactive methods comprising theatre and narrative sessions.
We advocate with and lobby the government for policy changes and stricter implementation of laws, and build capacities of government representatives and law enforcement authorities to strengthen their response to child protection.
Our Approach
Our Projects in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, we work in Gazipur, Mirpur and Sathkira districts.
In 2023, our online reporting mechanism was integrated with the government’s National Referral Mechanism, 500 young people learnt about SRHR, and the capacities of 322 child counter-trafficking committees were built.
Local governance structures were effectively institutionalised through the establishment of functional Community-Based Child Protection Committees at the ward level.
Our Projects
Completed
Addressing child trafficking in Bangladesh
Child trafficking in Bangladesh has been on the rise in recent years, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pande…
Completed
Capacity building of early married girls in Bangladesh
Being a girl in Bangladesh is a difficult reality as it has one of highest rates of early marriage in the worl…
Ongoing
Down to Zero
Millions of children worldwide are sexually exploited, both online and offline. And this number continues to g…
Our partners in Bangladesh
Together with experienced partners we are working towards a world without child exploitation, where young people can feel safe today and better about tomorrow. Join our fight.
Contact us
Business hours
Funding partners
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BZ) is committed to a fair and sustainable world.