Peer-reviewed article
Child Maltreatment Portrayed in Bangladeshi Newspapers
M Atiqul Haque, Staffan Janson, Syed Moniruzzaman, Aminur Rahman, Syed Shariful Islam et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study analysed 790 newspaper articles from Bangladesh published between October and December 2014 to understand how child maltreatment is portrayed in media. Physical abuse and sexual abuse were the most commonly reported types of maltreatment, with sexual abuse victims being predominantly female. About one-third of reported abuse cases resulted in death, and perpetrators were usually male and known to the child. The study found that Bangladeshi newspapers often reported these incidents unethically by identifying victims and rarely discussed prevention or consequences.
Key points
- Physical abuse (26%) and sexual abuse (22%) comprised almost half of all reported child maltreatment cases
- Female children represented 90% of sexual abuse victims
- Approximately 32% of reported abuse cases resulted in death, linked to rape, family violence, administrative negligence, abduction and ransom
- Perpetrators were predominantly male and often known to the victims
- Newspapers frequently identified victims by name, violating child rights, and seldom discussed prevention or consequences of maltreatment
Limitations
This study examined only print media reports over a three-month period, which does not represent the full incidence of child maltreatment in Bangladesh—only cases deemed newsworthy by journalists. The analysis cannot establish the actual prevalence or patterns of maltreatment in the population.
Abstract
As in most low‐income countries, there is a lack of scientific information on the incidence and pattern of child maltreatment (CM) in Bangladesh. However, the role of the media to disclose CM and to develop public awareness in society is noteworthy. The present study assessed newspaper reports about CM by type and socio‐demographics of victims and perpetrators in Bangladesh. In total, 790 news articles were collected retrospectively from four Bengali‐ and two English‐language newspapers from October to December 2014. Among all reported incidents, almost half of the CM cases concerned alleged physical abuse (26%) and sexual abuse (22%). Neglect and emotional or psychological abuse received less coverage. Female children were to a high degree (90%) victims of sexual abuse. The main perpetrators were males, and they were often known to the victims. Approximately 32 per cent of the reported abuse cases resulted in death and were related to rape, family violence, administrative negligence, abduction and ransom demand. Some of these deaths were suicides. News stories concerning CM were often reported in an unethical way by identifying the victim and not respecting child rights. Further, the stories seldom discussed the individual or social consequences of CM, or how maltreatment could be prevented. ‘The present study assessed newspaper reports about CM by type and socio‐demographics of victims and perpetrators in Bangladesh’ Key Practitioner Messages The main types of reported cases of CM in Bangladeshi print media are physical abuse and sexual abuse, and there is a high proportion of fatal consequences. The perpetrators are often known to the victims. The identity of the victim is frequently reported, potentially putting the child at risk and violating child rights. Bangladeshi print media seldom discusses individual or societal consequences of CM, or how it could be prevented.