Since his childhood, Rehan (not his real name), now a student of class nine, had been a victim to different kinds of psychological abuse from his family.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Rehan said his family never gave him the attention he needed, a problem which was compounded as he was introvert in nature.
Despite repeated attempts, he was never able to establish a proper way of communicating with his parents.
The 15-year-old said he was always the first person his parents turned to blame whenever any wrong things happened in the house; he had to live through the perpetual fear of being handed a beating without ever being able a chance to defend himself.
Rehan claimed that the continuous humiliation often made him feel that his parents did not consider him as their own child.
Rehan was inflicted with stammering, making him a constant target of mockery from his elder brother. Despite knowing that Rehan was being harassed regularly, the mother refused to take any action. The teen claimed it was heartbreaking for him as he felt that his elder brother was his parents’ favourite son.
Years of psychological abuse eventually took a toll. Rehan started taking drugs and stopped going to school, resulting in further corporal punishment from his family.
Unable to endure the abuse, Rehan finally attempted to commit suicide.
After receiving medical treatment, Rehan now spends most of his time locked in his room, refusing to speak to his family.
Rehan’s story is not an anomaly in a society which fails to properly address the psychological needs of the children and lacks the necessary awareness among parents.
The common psychological abuses suffered by children in the country include threats of corporal punishment, mockery, forced isolation and constant blaming by the parents.
Psychiatrists say parents often carry out such abuses in casual ways but their effects could persist throughout the lives of the victims.
Psychological abuses get less attention than physical or sexual abuse as the crisis is considered a “private issue,” they claimed.
Regular home visits by different social service organisations might be a possible remedy for the situation,
suggested researchers, adding that such a type of intervention has been identified as one of the most promising solutions for preventing a number of negative outcomes.
In a research, Mirza Farzana Iqbal Chowdhury, a lecturer of Daffodil International University who has several research papers on child rights published in different journals, said the governments and NGOs failed to address the emotional abuses faced by children because the issue was silently killing children’s minds.
In her research titled “Strengthening Children Protection System for Redressing Domestic Emotional Abuse of Children: Bangladesh Perspective,” Farzana also recommended for parental training in society to address the problem.
Nayeem Wahra, a child rights activist who has experience with the NGO Save the Children, said how parents handled their children was a “personal and private issue” in our country.
As a result, the psychological abuse and its impacts were never discussed, Wahra claimed.
According to the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010, psychological abuse is defined as verbal abuse including insults, humiliation, threats, harassment, controlling behaviour.
