Since May 2026, Bangladesh has witnessed repeated cases of child sexual abuse and child murder following sexual assault Protests erupted. Social media filled with grief and rage. People demanded justice. Yet the cases have not stopped. On 26 September 2026, another case was reported.
The outrage followed again. But between the anger, a familiar thread appears: some people still blame the children. They ask what the child was wearing, where she went, why she was alone. Such comments reveal something just as dangerous, a permission structure that treats some children as fair game.
According to Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, 543 children were victims of sexual abuse in 2025 alone. Many organisations, including UNICEF, warn that the real number is higher, because most victims never come forward.
Many adolescents are groomed, manipulated, and sexually abused by predatory adults who hide exploitation behind the curtain of romance.
Shockingly, a large part of society seems willing to accept that form of abuse. But is it really shocking? In the past, child marriage was widely accepted in Bangladesh. In the 2000s, 27% of girls were married by the age of 16. The law has changed.
The trend may have declined. But, has the mindset really changed?
The practice may have died down, but the mindset has not vanished. It hides behind polite smiles and surfaces when people feel comfortable enough to blame a child. Look again at the comments that blame victims.
Do those commenters see a child?
Or do they see someone who was "old enough," "mature enough," or "asking for it"?
These are the same excuses used to justify child marriage, to silence survivors, and to protect abusers.
"She is mature for her age."
"She looks old."
"She dresses up a lot."
"She goes out a lot."
"She posts a lot of photos."
These excuses are portable. If they work for a 16-year-old, they can be stretched to a 14-year-old. If they work for a 14-year-old, they can be stretched to a 12-year-old. Then to a 9-year-old. The age changes; the logic does not. This does not mean that every person who abuses a teenager will go on to abuse a younger child. It is a claim about the permission structure we allow to circulate.
Once we accept that a child can be blamed for her own abuse, we have already accepted the core idea that makes all child sexual abuse easier to excuse.
The line keeps moving. That is the danger.
Many girls in Bangladesh still grow up hearing that they must change how they sit, speak, dress, or move, or they will not find a husband. This is often masked under humour. But it is not funny. It teaches a girl that her body exists for marriage and male approval before she can understand what either means.
It tells her that her safety is her responsibility, not the adult's. And it tells abusers that society may take their side.
Children's and adolescents' brains are still developing. They cannot legally consent. Teenagers are not adults simply because they look older or because an adult finds them attractive.
Under the law, a child is a child. The age of consent and child marriage laws exist precisely because adults are responsible for not exploiting young people's vulnerability.
Yet society often draws an arbitrary line: "Younger children are victims, but teenagers are somehow complicit."
Why?
There is no age limit for victim-blaming.
If a 15-year-old is told she was mature, then a 12-year-old is told she dressed older. Then a 7-year-old is told she should have known better. If we truly saw all children as children, it would be much harder to see them as something else.
The solution is not only punishment after the fact but also prevention. Educating and refusing to stay silent is the best way to start.
We must believe children when they speak up. We must stop questioning what they did wrong.
We must hold accountable the relatives, neighbours, and online commenters who blame victims. We must enforce child marriage and sexual abuse laws again and again, regardless of the abuser's status.
We must teach young boys that girls' bodies are not theirs to comment on, touch, or control. We must teach girls that they are not responsible for the violence of adults. We must support survivors with counselling, legal aid, and safe spaces. And we must stop treating teenagers as a separate, disposable category of children.
Children are the most precious and vulnerable part of humanity.
It is our duty as humans to keep them safe. That duty does not expire when a child turns 13 or 16.
It does not weaken because a girl "looks older" or because she is outgoing.
Every child deserves protection. Every child deserves justice. Every child deserves to be seen as a child.
Let all children be children.
Humayra Tasnim Nisa is an aspiring writer who is committed to raising awareness about child sexual abuse, victim-blaming, and the need for stronger legal and social protections.
