An Evaluation of Legal Safeguards for the Right to Life of Street Children in Bangladesh

Abstract

One of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in Bangladesh are street children, who face major risks to their right to life due to abuse, neglect, lack of access to basic services, and legal invisibility. The current legal protections—constitutional, statutory, and international—that are intended to preserve the lives and welfare of Bangladeshi street children are critically assessed in this study. The research maps out both the formal legal protections and significant gaps in implementation using secondary data, such as legal texts like the Children Act, 2013; constitutional provisions (such as Articles 15, 17, etc.); international instruments to which Bangladesh is a party (particularly the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC); and reports from NGOs and UN agencies. The study comes to the conclusion that, despite being essential and generally well- designed, legislative protections are insufficient in reality to ensure street children's right to life. Strengthening child-friendly courts, enhancing monitoring and accountability systems, increasing outreach and social services, raising street children's awareness of the law, and specifically including them into child protection programs are some of the recommendations it makes.