DLA Piper: Building a Case for Better Child Protection

Bangladesh has a child population of 65m and more than a million are homeless. Very young street children can be placed in jails without protection or representation. Children can encounter justice systems as victims, witnesses, or because they are in conflict with the law. If held in detention, children can suffer violations of their rights - they are often detained with adult prisoners – and may be exposed to torture, physical and emotional abuse.

The scale of the challenge in Bangladesh is enormous but the situation is mirrored in many countries around the world, where justice systems do not include child-sensitive procedures due to lack of resources or political will. UNICEF estimates that more than one million children worldwide are deprived of their liberty by law enforcement officials (UNICEF, Progress for children, 2009).

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