Case Study: Breaking the silence on child sexual abuse in schools in Bangladesh

Breaking the Silence (BTS) is a programme designed to build the awareness of children on child sexual abuse. This case study is about an intervention in the Debnogor Begum Rokeya Highschool that took place from 2009 to 2010 and brought out the issue of child sexual abuse in the open, after girl students had complained they were being sexually abused by one of their teachers. BTS has been involved in awareness raising exercises and in organising training workshops for teachers on child rights, child sexual abuse and positive discipline, in order to bring about positive changes in their attitude and practice towards the students. The training helped to create an atmosphere free from abuse within the school and also empowered children to protect themselves from being victims of child sexual abuse.