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Rising Child Abuse in Bangladesh: A Four-Year Analysis of Violence Indicators and Help-Seeking Patterns (2022--2025)

Students & Supervisors

Student Authors
Koushik Biswas Arko
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science & Engineering, FST
Md Anjir Jaman
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science & Engineering, FST
Supervisors
Md. Mortuza Ahmmed
Associate Professor, Faculty, FST

Abstract

Child protection systems in Bangladesh continue to grapple with inadequate data management and an uptick in child violence. The goal of this study is to compile the available fragmented data regarding trends in child abuse from 2022 through 2025 to demonstrate trends in torture, rape, murders, and calls to the helpline to provide insight for policy actions. We gather data from publicly available reports and statistics from the government helpline, police statistics, and annual reports from rights organizations. Where data were complete, we collected annual totals. For incomplete data sets (e.g., January–October), we noted the months for which data were not available. We did not create any synthetic estimates; we only included counts sourced from reports synthesized by the media and monitored by advocates. The findings reflect concerning increases. Calls to the 1098 helpline regarding abuse rose from 8,021 in 2022 to 26,300 in 2025 (a 228% increase). The number of children murdered increased by 14.5%, from 421 in 2023 to 482 in 2024, and 37 per month on average until July 2025. Both trends of rape of a child and torture continued to trend upward, including numbers for which only partial data were available for 2025, amid widespread violence tied to the unrest of 2024. Overall, there are growing concerns about safety for child victims as indicated by rising reports and improved awareness surrounding reporting. Possible implications show that there will need to be the implementation of a common reporting system amongst agencies to facilitate rapid responses, conversely, the implementation of more prevention programs could improve the overall reliance on victims for solutions. Unifying this fragmented data is crucial for enabling evidence-informed responses that can effectively reduce child vulnerabilities. Ultimately, integrated data systems can lead to lower rates of abuse through targeted community action and improved policies.

Keywords

child abuse Bangladesh helpline calls violence trends child protection

Publication Details

  • Type of Publication:
  • Conference Name: BURS 1st National Youth Research Summit 2025
  • Date of Conference: 18/10/2025 - 18/10/2025
  • Venue: University of Barishal
  • Organizer: Barishal University Research Society (BURS)
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