Juvenile Delinquency as A Non-Traditional Security Threat: A Growing Concern for Bangladesh
Juvenile delinquency is a growing issue of public safety in Bangladesh, so far addressed as a criminal justice, or child-welfare issue. Much less is known about its influence on the security of people and their communities in their daily lives. This study is an attempt to highlight the factors which are responsible for Juvenile delinquency and the impact of Juvenile delinquency in wider frame of non-traditional security. The study focuses on a qualitative exploratory approach with two part groups of 100 in-depth interviews with parents, guardians and rehabilitated juvenile offenders and 20 key informant interviews with professional from the juvenile justice, law enforcement, child protection and social welfare sectors in Dhaka and Gazipur. The findings show that factors that contribute to delinquency do not exist independently, but are interrelated, such as the family, economic difficulties, school involvement, peer and gang pressure, and exposure to drugs and negative digital content. The vulnerabilities are a source of fear, restricted mobility, social isolation and a strain on public institutions, which creates a loss of community trust. They refer to the need for a comprehensive prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration and child-sensitive justice response to the study.
Rasel Abedin, Habiba Akter, Kazi Nishat Aunjum et al.