Survival and Resilience of Female Street Children Experiencing Sexual Violence in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

The goal of this exploratory study was to inspect and comprehend the phenomenon of female street children who left their homes and came to the streets for survival. The study explored any violent experience (i.e., sexual violence) they had, their feedback about the support they receive from the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It also aimed to explore their hopes, aspiration, resilience and their thoughts about their lives, despite the challenges they faced. The study utilized qualitative methodology and information was collected through open-ended questions. The study was guided by resilience theory to understand the coping strategy and resilience among these children. Twelve female children between the ages 13–14 were selected from the local NGOs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. For analysis purposes, the study utilized grounded theory and identified three themes. These themes include Reasons for moving to the streets, experience of living on the streets and hopes and aspiration: Resilience. Majority of the respondents experienced sexual violence and despite all the challenges many of these children could still dream of a pleasant future.

KEYWORDS:

• Humiliation
• bad things
• violence
• hopes
• aspiration

Disclosure of interest

Authors had no financial or personal relationships that might bias the work being submitted.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elma Kaiser

Elma Kaiser PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at Stockton University in New Jersey. Her research interests include international social work, displaced population and underprivileged children, violence against women and children, mental health, diversity issues.

Allison N. Sinanan

Allison N. Sinanan PhD, MSW, is a Professor in the Social Work Program and currently serves as the coordinator of the program. Her scholarly interests include examining child maltreatment recurrence and oppression and discrimination of minority populations.