2. Purpose and scope of the activities

In this quartile, I made a special attention on my activities on the basis of experiences gathered and shared with different views and knowledge in national and international level over the pasts (especially taking part in mission, South Asian Regional Network Resource Exchange, Nepal, South Asia). The main purpose was to make a linkage with partners, and child and young generation by sharing my knowledge and experiences of implementing micro project and with the concerned issues of the mission statement. In this period, I intended to make a scope of in-depth work at the field levels of ACD and in implementing micro project and gathered practical knowledge on practices at the border belt areas.

 3. Completed Activities

According to the intended purpose in the time period, I have accomplished the following activities at National and International levels with close supervision of ACD supported by ECPAT international.

3.1. Completed Activities at National Level

3.1.1. Activities

Implementation of Micro Project
I have implemented a micro project supported by ECPAT International named Awareness Raising on CSEC & Child Trafficking during Flood conducted in the areas of Rajshahi City Corporation and Godagari of Rajshahi District. The riverbank of Padma of Rajshahi has been identified as a gate to trafficking. As a youth representative of ECPAT from South Asia I have been working with ACD since September 2005 in its child Rights Sector at Rajshahi region. The Char of Rajshahi and Godagari of Rajshahi district are the most trafficking prone areas and identified as a gate to trafficking due to its geographical location as it is situated in the riverbank of Padma, the river border of India-Bangladesh. The goal of the project was to protect children from increased risks of Sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking as a result of flood with the objective of creating awareness on children’s vulnerability during flood with special focus on sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. The project activities have been conducted through issue based cultural intervention by the child cultural team named “SHOISHAAB”. The cultural activities were conducted at the different areas named Chor Shahpur, Basudevpur, Chor Asharidhaw, Chor Khidirpur and Chor Balu Dia on date 31/03/07, 4/04/07, 8/04/07, 21/04/07 and 25/04/07 respectively in the reporting period. The cultural activities included folk song and street drama. The Drama was performed on the issue of trafficking of women and children.

Participation in field based activity
In the period, I took part in the activities of ACD taken on the issues of vulnerable situation of children, children in hazardous jobs and the activity with the rural adolescent in its working areas (the activities are informal meeting, discussion and group sessions).

In the period, I visited some working areas of ACD at the bordering areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal of India.

I took part in an informal speaking event organized with adolescent girls by social workers of ACD at Mohadevpur in its working areas. Here, it has been discussed about non-commercial forms of sexual abuse and its extreme forms. The adolescents shared with each other about the issue in the event. 20 numbers of adolescents took part in the event.

Participation in research work
I am taking part in a base line research work with children conducted by ACD. In the mean time, I took part in all primary tasks of the research such as tools development, area selection and format preparations of the research tasks. The research is being conducted with the violence issues of vulnerable children.

3.1.2. Gained experiences from the activities

Here, it has been addressed the essentiality to develop the children and to remove the factors affecting the children and adolescents from vulnerable situations in-depth, which are the root causes of abuse, exploitation, unsafe migration and in turn trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation. Along with these, it has been addressed that lacks of livelihood options (especially seasonal crisis of livelihood options affecting the children and young generation in undocumented migration), more benefits of smuggling goods across the border, and sudden rising cost of living standards are routes of root causes. The experiences from these fields have made more intention in taking future plan of action in this regard.

3.2. Completed Activity at International Level

3.2.1. Activities

Participation in South Asia RNRE workshop
I took part in the South Asia RNRE workshop conducted during 8 th February to 10 th February 2007. The workshop made an opportunity for me to gather practical knowledge on the child rights programming, especially the youth and child participation and raise the voice to strengthen this program in South Asia among all the national group members of ECPAT international. On the other hand, in took part in different session of the workshop continued within three days, shared my works and experiences in a practical performances.

In day-1, I presented a paper on the activities that I have implemented as an EICYAC and took part in the group session conducted on Promoting Child and Youth Participation (CYP), Monitoring the A4A, Information and resource sharing, Technical support and capacity building, Joint Advocacy, and Collaboration and joint programs as to find out the opportunities, barriers and solituions of the those areas.

In day-2, I took part in capacity building session on protecting children agaisnt sexual violence in emergencies. Here, I shared with different issues like sexual abuse, effective protrection mechanisms needed, support systems and children’s coping and resilience etc. in the region of south Asia, especially in bangladesh.

In day – 3, I took part on over view of research findings and capacity building session on the prostitution of Boys, A4A report follow-up and wrap up. I took part in making the objectives of research, the misconception about sexual of boys discussion and building the recommendations in care and protection of children.

 3.2.2. Gained experiences from the activity

Through the workshop it has been building a working relation with the national group members of ECPAT. It has built cooperation with the ECPAT national group member of South Asia and created an environment to strengthen the youth and child participation movement. The results of taking part in different sessions of three days long make us capable with information on

• Promoting Child and Youth Participation (CYP), Monitoring the A4A, Information and resource sharing, Technical support and capacity building, Joint Advocacy, and Collaboration and joint programs as to find out the opportunities, barriers and solituions of the those areas,
• Protecting children from violence like sexual violence in emergencies and the situation of children without parental care, mentally and physically disable children, children from marginalized groups and children unsupervised. And
• Components of care and protection such as safety and security, physical needs, health services, access to justice, advocacy and rights, social and life skills, minimization of effects of experienced harms, education/training and income generation, emotional and psychological well being, Reintegration to society, community and family and prevention of further harms.

It makes me capable of building up an intervention plan of action against the vulnerability of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking such as HIV/AIDS/STDs. Also, it has made an intention to explore the diversity of sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking of children and adolescents in the rural setup of Bangladesh relevant with international levels.

4. Recommends

As a result of participating in South Asia RNRE workshop made an opportunities for me to gather practical knowledge on the child rights program especially the youth and child participation and raise the voice to strengthen this program in South Asia among all the national group members of ECPAT international. On the other hand, participating in ACD’s field levels activities and visiting at the border belt areas made me experienced with basic information regarding sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking and the root causes behind those.

In this regard, it is more important to bring out and share with each other of YPP members at national level of all information gathered within the period by a coordination meeting and workshop. Here, it will be addressed the necessary and in-depth action against sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking in a collective manner in the region.

As it is very difficult to estimate the magnitude of the child sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, poverty and unemployment push the children of poor families in the trap of the traffickers, broker and abuser with the hope of a livelihood or food security, and also as it is extremely related with the socioeconomic reasons, socio environmental factors such as dowry, conflicts, and major disasters like floods, it needs such like interventions in the region which are closely related to livelihood options.

Also, as incidences of child sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking are mostly unreported, undocumented and hidden problems, and the victims of sexual abuse and exploitation are mostly reluctant to disclose such evidence to public sphere because of stigma and social taboo, so the initiatives should be taken by the stakeholders in their own tracts.

5. Conclusion

Sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, especially CSA, CSE and trafficking are burning issues as their magnitudes and expansions are mostly occurred as hidden and unreported. As my experience and recommendation on the issues, it is important for the youth generations to be known and share experience with each other and influence stakeholders, especially the governments of the country of the region with information to take an effective action against those in a participatory process.