1. Why do these children live on the streets ? Children remain
easy targets of abuse and sexual exploitation in a country like
Bangladesh where poverty, gender inequality, natural disasters
as well as a lack of access to education and economic
alternatives prevent them from receiving the protection and the
care that they need. The reasons for exploitation are deeply
rooted in the socio-economic realities of the country. Often in
collaboration with the mafia, in Bangladesh the traffickers
target the children of the poorest and most isolated villages,
marked by a lack of information and education, by poverty and a
high birth rate. Children are often trafficked by those close to
the family circle. Furthermore, child trafficking is facilitated
by the cultural context (parents marry their daughters as soon
as possible, although child marriage can lead to sexual
violence), by economic needs (the promise of a well-paid job)
and the creation of a real “market” for child trafficking for
sexual purposes promoted by hig