 |
| About one billion children have faced various forms of violence in the last year, according to the World Health Organization. (Image: Pixabay) |
The recent brutal killing of three children at a state-run
juvenile correction facility in southwest Bangladesh has brought to the fore
state violence against children in the country.
At first it was reported the children died at Jessore
Juvenile Development Center following a clash between two groups of inmates on
Aug. 13. Later, a police investigation found the children died from injuries
resulting from merciless beatings by staff. Public shock quickly turned to fury
and strong calls for justice.
On the day, a guard of the facility — which holds 280 boys
either convicted or awaiting trial for juvenile delinquencies including theft,
rape and murder — allegedly ordered some boys to have haircuts, leading to
a scuffle. The attack left the guard with a broken hand.
In response, the staff held a meeting and decided to beat
up the children “to teach them a lesson.” Some 18 boys were allegedly sorted
out, tied with ropes and had their mouths gagged with towels. They were beaten
for an hour with steel pipes, sticks and cricket stumps before they passed out.
The seriously injured children died before they were
rushed to a local hospital. Police detained five staff for the assault and
launched a probe into the incident.
Such inhuman treatment of children in state-run juvenile
rehabilitation centers is not new. In 2015, some 20 children cut their
wrists protesting torture by staff in another juvenile center, forcing the
government to suspend the head of the facility.
Child rights activists have complained on many occasions that these facilities were more for punishment of children than rehabilitation in the absence of effective correctional mechanisms and monitoring.
