Integrated efforts by all government and non-government organizations are crucial to protecting children from sexual exploitation.
Experts emphasized the need for national-level policies and action plans that consider children’s real-life experiences and perspectives to achieve this goal.
The observations came during a project learning dialogue reviewing lessons learned, challenges, and future actions in preventing child sexual exploitation and abuse. The dialogue was organized by the Association for Community Development (ACD) at Boalia Club conference hall in Rajshahi on Monday under the project “Children Know Better: Making Child Participation the Key to Improving Effectiveness of Action against Sexual Exploitation of Children,” supported by ECPAT International.
Resource persons included Additional Deputy Commissioner Sabur Ali, Additional Police Superintendent Sabina Yeasmin, Deputy Director of the Department of Youth Development Shariful Islam, District Education Officer Zayedur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Service Monira Khatun, and District Child Affairs Officer Monzurul Kader.
Project Coordinator Ali Ahmed highlighted the project’s goals and objectives, while ACD’s Team Lead for Advocacy, Lobby, and Networking, Subrata Kumar Paul, moderated the discussion.
The initiative aims to strengthen child protection systems, raise awareness on safeguarding policies, and promote active participation of children in decision-making processes to ensure their safety from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. The event stressed that children are not merely victims but also vital partners in identifying solutions. Their insights and experiences can help reinforce child protection mechanisms.
A key objective is to build leadership skills among children and empower them to prevent sexual exploitation through participatory research and data analysis.
