Child Protection Risks and Needs in Cox’s Bazar

Secondary Data Review

1© UNICEF/UN0219081/ModolaBangladesh

Compiled by Child Protection Cox’s Bazar and Global Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR)

Introduction This document collates and analyzes available information on key child protection issues from a compilation of reports, including UNICEF, WFP and several INGOs reports. It covers the period since the surge of Unregistered Myanmar Nationals (UMNs) in August and September 2017, and includes in-crisis information about the following child protection vulnerabilities in Cox’s Bazar: overall protection, overall child protection, child labor, child marriage, child trafficking, danger and injuries, physical violence and other harmful practices, psychosocial distress and mental disorder, sexual violence and exploitation, unaccompanied and separated children, and other child protection issues. All data points are citations from the secondary data matrix which have been compared and interpreted, but not triangulated and verified.

On 25 August 2017, violence broke out in Rakhine state in Myanmar, leading to the mass forced displacement of around 693,000 Rohingya, an ethnic minority, primarily Muslim, population within Myanmar.1 They joined the estimated 303,000 Rohingya who had already fled violence in previous years and settled in camps established in and around Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.2 While the rate of arrivals has since slowed, affected Rohingya are facing a dire humanitarian situation, struggling to have their basic needs met, and trying to cope with having witnessed or experienced unthinkable traumatic events. Access to proper water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, nutrition, education, healthcare, and protection services are urgently needed, and the rapid growth of camps has caused a strain on makeshift shelters threatened by a long monsoon season. At the time of this review, the estimated total population is around 1 million, of which 55 to 60% are children and 4% of households are headed by a child.3 Although there are efforts for a political resolution to the ongoing crisis, there are no current realistic prospects for safe return of Rohingya, and the humanitarian emergency remains.

1 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 2 ibid 3 Situation Report Rohingya Refugee Crisis, June 2018, ISCG

Table of contents

Overall Protection Situation........................................................................................... 4

Overall Child Protection Situation .................................................................................. 5

Sexual Violence and Exploitation ................................................................................. 12

Child Marriage ............................................................................................................... 6

Physical Violence and Other Harmful Practices ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Psychosocial Distress and Mental Health Concerns ..................................................... 12

Unaccompanied and Separated Children ....................................................................... 8

Child Trafficking and Abduction ..................................................................................... 9

Child Labour ................................................................................................................... 6

Dangers and Injuries .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Other Child Protection Issues ....................................................................................... 13

Information Gaps ......................................................................................................... 14

Overall Protection Situation

A protection crisis lies at the heart of the Rohingya refugee crisis. Women, girls, men, and boys fled

persecution and violence in Myanmar, hoping to find protection and safe haven. In Cox’s Bazar, around

a million refugees need multi-dimensional protection from forced return, trafficking, forced labor, and

other serious concerns.4 Exacerbating the situation is the lack of recognized legal status for Rohingya

refugees, which increases their risk of exploitation and abuse.5

Within the camps, overcrowding is common, and conditions are desperate. Many refugee sites are

situated in difficult to access locations. For example, 58% of locations are inaccessible, except by foot,

thus further aggravating serious gaps in basic service delivery. In fact, of approximately 134 interviewed

locations, less than half of the population reported having access to clean water, and over 70% of

locations reported the lack of gender-segregated latrines.6 Furthermore, most shelters have been

constructed on flood or landslide-prone areas. For instance, around 200,000 shelters are categorized at

risk of floods and landslides, and 25,000 are very high risk7. There is no doubt that living conditions in

the camps are difficult and dangerous, especially with the current makeshift shelters. In particular,

women feel less safe in their own shelters than in their day-to-day life activities due to the complete lack

of lighting at night and easily entered shelters.8 Feeling unsafe was raised among all refugees,

regardless of age and gender, especially the fear of human trafficking, theft, lack of safe spaces, and

even collapse of the fragile shelters during the monsoon season.9

4 JRP for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, March 2018, 5 Ibid 6Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM): Site Assessment: Round 11, July 2018, IOM Bangladesh 7 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 8 ibid 9 Bulletin #3- Safety and Control, August, 2018, Ground Truth Solutions.

Overall Child Protection Situation

Minimum Standard 13: Unaccompanied and Separated Children Refugee children reported they were feeling unsafe inside their tents, the camps, and outside the

camps’ perimeters. Girls and boys raised concerns about the shelters’ lack of door locks and the light

material that can be easily broken by either people or weather conditions10.

Inside the camps, high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and other forms of violence were reported,

particularly among adolescent girls, and this has restricted their mobility and confined them to stay

indoors.11 The fear of both physical and verbal harassment is preventing girls and women from

accessing education and participating in community activities.12 In addition, the location of latrines

away from shelters and centers is believed to raise protection risks, especially for girls where key

informants identified them as a safety risk in 58% of assessed sites.13 Among the host community,

adolescent girls also explained that they are afraid to go to school alone because of the fear of being

harassed on the road.14 Even in what are considered as “safe spaces,” such as learning and health

centers, boys and girls shared serious protection concerns. For example, health centers were identified

as unsafe due to overcrowding, lack of privacy, and harassment in the queues.15 In general, roads and

bazaars were viewed by the community as being dangerous, especially after the rise of kidnapping and

accidents around both crowded locations. Furthermore, travelling to the learning centers posed a

barrier to access education due to the challenging terrain and the hazards and threats along the way.

For children, areas outside of camp perimeters are considered some of the most dangerous places, with

threats of kidnapping, trafficking, wild animals, and sexual harassment, particularly for girls when

collecting firewood in the forests, increasing fear.16

Among surveyed adults, 79% noted that they have noticed changes in refugee children, and 45% noted

changes in host community children.17 The changes noticed among refugee children included not going

to school (74%), being emotionally disturbed (24%), being disrespectful (24%), and not playing with

10 Rohingya Refugee Response Gender Analysis, August 2018, Joint Agency Research Report 11 ibid 12Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Interagency report 13 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 14 Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Interagency report 15 Rohingya Refugee Response Gender Analysis, August 2018, Joint Agency Research 16 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl.

17 Rapid Situation Assessment Report, 2018, Terre des Hommes

Child Marriage

Sexual Violence and Exploitation

other children (41%). Whereas, for host community children, changes noticed involved not attending

schools (94%), committing crimes (63%), substance abuse (52%), being disrespectful (26%), and not

willing to interact (25%).18

Sexual violence and exploitation were perpetrated on a massive scale in Myanmar against women, men,

and children. In particular, Tatmadaw soldiers were targeting girls and women aged 13-25, including

those who were pregnant, and the systematic abduction and rape led to many dying from severe

injuries of the reproductive organs.19However, girls and women were not the only target; boys were also

subjected to rape, sexualized torture, and genital mutilation.20In addition, survivors face immense

stigma in their community.21

In Cox’s Bazar, the lack of access to basic services is exposing refugees to protection risks, such as sexual

exploitation.22Majhis, or community leaders are working directly with all NGOs for community aid

distribution, and cases of sexual exploitation and abuse were reported by some female participants who

indicated that majhis offered them help in exchange of sex or money.23 In the latest study by OXFAM in

April 2018, it stated that 15% of participants knew of, had heard of, or they themselves had experienced

sexual exploitation.24 Interestingly, most of these testaments came from boys.

Allowing or even encouraging girls to get married in their early teens is a common tradition that the

Rohingya practiced in Myanmar and is continuing while in Bangladesh.25 Child marriage is also highly

prevalent among the host community where adolescent girls are forced into marriage at an early age.26A

18 ibid 19 Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, August, 2018, UNHRC 20 ibid 21 ibid

22 Situation Report Rohingya Refugee Crisis, August 2018, Inter Sector Coordination Group 23 Rohingya Refugee Response Gender Analysis, August 2018, Joint Agency Research Report

24 ibid 25 Futures in the Balance, Building Hope for a Generation of Rohingya Childen, August 2018, UNICEF 26 Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Interagency report

survey by Plan International, conducted in June 2018 reported adolescent girls getting married early,

some as young as 12 years old.27 Often, the decision for girls to get married lies with parents/caregivers,

and around 75% of those married stated it was the decision of the parents to marry them off.28 When

comparing the age of marriage for boys and girls, 62% of boys said between 19-24 years and 27% said

15-18 year; whereas, 11% of girls said under 15, 62% answered 15-18 years, and 27% said 19-24 years.29

It has been observed that child marriage is on the rise, particularly among poorer families, and parents

of Rohingya girls describe marriage for their girls as being 1) a means of protection, 2) a way to reduce

household expenses by shifting it the husband’s family, and 3) an aspiration for girls to continue with

their lives.30

This increase in reported child marriages is leading to an increase in young mothers giving birth, and

70% of those who are currently or were previously married have at least one child.31 Furthermore,

pregnancy and childbirth among adolescents increases young mother mortality and infant mortality,

which compounds the critical gaps around medical services available. Early pregnancy severely impacts

the health of adolescent girls, increases risk of maternal death, and limits their educational

opportunities.32 Of those married, the school attendance rate is at zero percent.33

27 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International

28 ibid 29 Rohingya Refugee Response Gender Analysis, August 2018, Joint Agency Research Report 30 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 31 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 32 ibid 33 ibid

Physical Violence and Other Harmful Practices

Child Labour

Fear of physical violence against boys and girls is one of the top three concerns shared by both refugee

and host communities.34 Harassment, discrimination, and physical violence was reported to affect all

children, but mostly adolescent girls.35 Almost 1 in 4 girls (24%) aged 10-14 and around 1 in 10 girls (9%)

aged 15-19, reported being hit or beaten at home in the month before the study.36 Perpetrators of this

violence were overwhelmingly parents for younger adolescent girls (74%) and husbands for older

adolescent girls.37

Inside the camps, fear of physical violence was widely present as well. Boys reported being afraid of

volunteers and community representatives at food distribution centers who treat them badly and beat

them.38 In the eyes of boys and girls, powerful men, such as majhis, were associated with insecurity as

they were seen exploiting children.39 For example, cases of extortion were practiced by powerful men

abusing their authorities.40 For girls, police officers and the army were a bigger source of fear due to

violence perpetuated by them.41 Physical violence was also seen as affecting school attendance. For

example, adolescent girls from host communities mentioned they are afraid to continue going to schools

because of the fear of being attacked or harassed on the way.42 In addition, some mothers mentioned

the fear of sending their boys to the madrasah for fear of corporal punishment by educators against kids

who cannot pay.43 When collecting firewood in the forests, refugee children shared their fear of

“Bangladeshi forest men” who beat them and shout at them, also bringing back memories of violence in

Myanmar.44

34 Rapid Situation Assessment Report, 2018, Terre des Hommes 35 Refugee influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) – Technical Report, August 2018, World Food Programme 36 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 37 ibid 38 Rohingya Refugee Response Gender Analysis, August 2018, Joint Agency Research Report 39 ibid 40 ibid

41 ibid 42 Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Inter-Agency Report 43 ibid 44 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl.

Psychosocial Distress and Mental Health Concerns

Violent, traumatic memories, displacement, and the stress from the camp’s daily life severely affects the

emotional state of refugee children.45 Refugee children come into Cox’s Bazar, bearing with them the

traumatic events (e.g., killings, sexual violence, etc.) they were subjected to and/or witnessed in

Myanmar.46 Rapes were often committed in public, further aggravating the terror faced by survivors

and witnesses and creating a more visible display of trauma.47

The absence of close family members due to death, disappearance, or separation is another source of

emotional distress. In fact, 64% of Rohingya adolescent girls reported living without one or both of their

parents.48 According to a Children’s Consultation report, these distresses are affecting their access to

and effective engagement with education. A recent rapid mental health assessment also indicated the

widespread presence of pre-displacement delays in children’s cognitive and emotional development and

points to a big threat to cognitive development in current displaced environment.49

In the camps across Cox’s Bazar, the lack of adequate space for children to play freely and learn is

affecting their development and wellbeing.50 . A high influx of refugees and overcrowding has caused for

tents and temporary structures to replace what was once playgrounds for host communities.51 Adding to

this, safety concerns put further restrictions on the mobility of all children, thus confining them to tents,

and most mothers shared their concern that this “captive life” is making children more low-spirited than

usual.52

Almost a year post-displacement, the provision of psychosocial support to children remains a

challenge.53The provision of mental healthcare is limited and 65.8% of people reported not having

45 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 46 Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, August, 2018, UNHCR 47 ibid 48 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 49 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 50 Childhood interrupted: Children Voices from the Rohingya Refugee Crisis, February 2018, World Vision, Save the Children, Plan International 51 ibid 52 ibid 53 Futures in the Balance, Building Hope for a Generation of Rohingya Childen, August 2018, UNICEF

Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Minimum Standard 13: Unaccompanied and Separated Children

access to them.54 Only few adolescent girls reported that they had accessed mental health services or

protection services to deal with the psychological distress associated with experiences of violence.

“I have no parents any more, only my older sister. ... We all ran in different directions completely empty-

handed. Now we are here. Just me and my older sister. Our parents are missing. I don’t think they are

alive. We have nobody and nothing here.”55

Of around the 500,000 Rohingya children, many children came into Bangladesh unaccompanied as they

were either kidnapped, lost their parents in the mazes of camps, or fled alone after their parents were

killed.56 The exact number of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) remains unclear, with the

latest numbers indicating around 6,013 who have been identified as UASC and currently receiving case

management and family tracing and reunification services.57Only 19% (1,167) identified UASC have been

reunified with their primary caregivers or placed in a long-term family based case management.58 Child

Protection actors have only been able to reach around 10,957 at risk girls and boys, a number that is

believed to be half of the identified children in need of urgent case-management services.59 Almost half

of the surveyed refugee community reported that they believed there were children living alone (23%)

or with an extended family (69%).60At the time of writing, Child Protection Sub Sector (CPSS) runs 426

child friendly spaces (CFS) in host and refugee communities, however, bad weather conditions has been

affecting the smooth operation of those CFS and 32 were forced either to relocate or close

temporarily.61

54 Rohingya Influx Overview: A needs analysis, May, 2018, NPM & ACAPS Analysis Hub

55 “Horrors I Will Never Forget”, November 2017, Save the Children International 56 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 57 Situation Report Rohingya Refugee Crisis, August 2018, Inter Sector Coordination Group

58 ibid 59 Ibid 60 Rapid Situation Assessment Report, 2018, Terre des Hommes 61 Situation Report Rohingya Refugee Crisis, August 2018, Inter Sector Coordination Group

Child Trafficking and Abduction

The presence of parents was viewed as a key determinant for children receiving basic needs, such as

food. Adolescent girls living alone or not with immediate family had problems obtaining enough food,

though it is unclear whether this is due to food distribution centers, registration, or lack of access to

supplementary food sources62.

For host community and refugees alike, the issue around child safety is a constant worry, and trafficking

and kidnapping were identified as significant risks.63 No accurate number of victims from camps exists;

however, between September 2017 and May 2018, the task force of the Ukhiya Upzila reported around

400 cases. The victims were identified to be abducted either for international human trafficking or to be

sexually exploited working in brothels across Southeast Asia. 64In the month of April, only 26 girls were

rescued on the way out of camps.65 There is a lack of resources for the police from the central

government, and the number of victims is believed to be much higher.66 In addition, 67% of key

informants identified the presence of possible traffickers in camps, in the form of people who offered to

take children away promising jobs, better care, and other incentives.67 Regardless of sex, trafficking was

a significant concern and has led to negative coping mechanisms among parents who have restricted

their children’s movement outdoors as compared with pre-displacement.68 Abduction has been

reported to be affecting teenage girls, some disappearing while walking on the main road and some

abducted by boyfriends.69

62 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 63 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 64 The Rohingya Crisis: How to prevent women and girls trafficking from the refugee camps, 2018, LSE

65 ibid 66 ibid 67 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 68 ibid 69 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International

Child Labour

Child Labour

Dangers and Injuries

Minimum Standard 13: Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Most of the reported child labour in Cox’s Bazar has been in relation to supporting the household, either

through participation in the labour market or helping with domestic chores. Many households in the

camps rely on the unpaid household labour adolescent girls often offer, including caring for younger

siblings, cooking meals, collecting water and firewood, among other household chores.70 In most cases,

it is the children’s duty to collect firewood and water, which occupies a major part of the children’s

time.71 Distant educational facilities and time spent working often hamper school attendance as some

caregivers reported not seeing any advantage of sending their children to school and rely on them for

generating income.72 A gendered analysis shows that it is often boys who work to generate income

while girls take care of the household.73

To have fuel for heating, cooking, and other daily life activities, household needs to collect firewood, and

it is usually the children’s responsibility. However, collecting firewood comes with many risks for

children, such as walking long distances in the adjacent forests alone and having their hands and bare

feet injured.74 The situation grows dire during monsoon season, and the community reported worrying

about flooding cutting them off from receiving humanitarian assistance.75 In addition, access to

immediate health care can be especially important during the monsoon as injuries due to floods and

landslides are common. However, the healthcare capacities are limited with 25.9% at risk of flooding or

70 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June 2018, Plan International 71 Joint Education Needs Assessment: Rohingya Refugee in Cox’s Bazar, June, 2018, Cox's Bazar Education Sector 72 Refugee influx Emergency Vulnerability Assessment (REVA) – Technical Report, August 2018, World Food Programme 73 ibid 74 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 75 Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Inter-Agency Report

Other Child Protection Issues

Child Labour

landslide, 17.6% do not live within 30 minutes of a healthcare facility and 64.5% of the population

lacking access to health services during nighttime.76

Refugee children’s access to education is affected by both sex and age; the older they get the more

restricted their access. The inadequate educational services available for adolescents remains a major

concern where less than 2,000 adolescent girls and boys have access out of 117,000 in need.77 Groups of

adolescent boys aged 11-17 reported that they cannot access education because learning activities are

only for younger children.78 Girls indicated that their situation gets more critical because tighter

restrictions related to safety and gender norms impede their access to formal and non-formal

education.79 For example, 97% of adolescent girls aged 15-19 were working at home while only 28%

responded that they attended school and were working at home.80

The poor living and hygiene conditions in the camps are a worry for all, and children believed this has

been the source of illnesses, such as skin diseases, diarrhea, fever and cold, spreading widely.81 Lack of

adequate, gender-segregated latrines has led to open defecation in areas adjacent to shelters, especially

for women and girls who are scared to move at night.82 In addition, the scarcity of clean water is

restricting women and girls bathing to once every 3-4 days.83 Adolescent girls mentioned that they were

ashamed of bathing during the day when men can see them and prefer to bathe at night.84 Both boys

and girls also suggested to have gender segregated health centers so they can feel more comfortable.85

76 Rohingya Influx Overview: A needs analysis, May, 2018, NPM & ACAPS Analysis Hub 77 Situation Report Rohingya Refugee Crisis, August, 2018, Inter Sector Coordination Group 78 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 79 Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Voices of the Rohingya, June, 2018, Plan International 80 ibid 81 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 82 Protection Needs and Trends Assessment for Refugee and Host Communities in Teknaf Sub-district, July 2018, Inter-Agency Report 83 ibid 84 Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voices from The Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Apr, 2018, World Vision Intl, Save the Children and Plan Intl. 85 ibid

Information Gaps

As for food security, refugee children mentioned that there was lack of adequate and nutritious food,

with older household members skipping meals to feed the younger ones. Children shared that their daily

meal is lentils and rice, unlike in Myanmar where it included fish, meat and vegetables.86

In terms of awareness of activities and services for children, both host and refugee communities had

very limited information around those services, where only 9% of refugee community reported

knowledge of available children activities and 3% for host community.87

Main information gaps are related to the following concerns:

• Number of child trafficking, the victims’ destination and type of exploitation • Type of child labour children are engaged in • Number of child marriages • Number, sex, and locations of unaccompanied and separated children • MHPSS services provision and access available • Analysis of intercommunity dynamics • Nature of human trafficking • Further disaggregation of figures by type of child (UMN, host community, etc.) and geography • Number and level of education of affected children, disaggregated by sex and age or age

86 ibid 87 Rapid Situation Assessment Report, 2018, Terre des Hommes