UNICEF Bangladesh has urged for immediate action to strengthen child and Gender-based violence (GBV) protection systems and prevention measures nationwide.
Expressing deep shocked and saddened by the recent brutal violence against children including the rape and killing of girls and boys in settings where they should have been safe, the UNICEF said the rise in reports of brutal and sexual violence against women and children across Bangladesh in 2026 underscore the needs for strengthening child and GBV across the country, the culture of impunity enjoyed by perpetrators must end, and the gaps in prevention, reporting, institutional safeguarding, child friendly police and justice, community protection and social services be addressed, Country chief of UNICEF Rana Flowers said in a statement on Saturday.
There is also need for psychosocial support for the women and children, with far stronger accountability of schools, madrasas, workplaces, neighbourhoods and care settings, it said.
"UNICEF appeals for children, women, families and community members to report violence, abuse or exploitation through available protection services, including Child Helpline 1098, which provides support and referral services for children in need of assistance.
"Children and women who suffer at the hands of an abuser deserve their dignity to be respected. The sharing of photos videos or identifying personal details represents a further abuse of each of them. All who share and reshare are adding to the trauma of survivors, the trauma of families, the disrespect of the victim, it added.
"UNICEF appeals to the public, media outlets and social media users to respect the rights of the victims and their families and to refrain from any such sharing. Instead, please raise your voice calling for the protections and the systems and for an end to impunity of perpetrators.
"Every child has the right to protection everywhere, in communities, schools, at home, and even in how their stories and images are treated in public spaces."
"UNICEF is deeply shocked and saddened by the recent brutal violence against children reported across Bangladesh, including the rape and killing of girls and boys in settings where they should have been safe. UNICEF conveys sincere condolences to all the affected families," the statement reads.
"Violence spreads when communities stay silent. UNICEF appeals for children, women, families and community members to report violence, abuse or exploitation through available protection services, including Child Helpline 1098, which provides support and referral services for children in need of assistance," she said.
Children and women who suffer at the hands of an abuser deserve their dignity to be respected, Rana Flowers said.
"The sharing of photos videos or identifying personal details represents a further abuse of each of them," she said, adding that all who share and reshare are adding to the trauma of survivors, the trauma of families, the disrespect of the victim.
"Instead, please raise your voice calling for the protections and the systems and for an end to impunity of perpetrators," she added.
Bangladesh on Friday witnessed protests over rising incidents of child rape as residents and activists in Pallabi and other parts of Dhaka demanded justice for eight-year-old Ramisa Akhter, who was raped and killed on May 19.
