Citation

Islam MS. Eval. Program Plann. 2018; 72: 8-15.

Affiliation

Khulna University, Bangladesh; Department of Political Science, University of Mississippi, United States. Electronic address: Sharifurp02@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.09.003

PMID

30245371

Abstract

Many underprivileged Bangladeshi children are vulnerable to child trafficking, abuse, and exploitation. Child-Friendly Space (CFS) is a semi-permanent house space where vulnerable children are given the support to have a safe environment to survive and thrive. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of CFS in providing a protective environment for the children in Bangladesh. A set of secondary and primary data was used to review child protection situation in Bangladesh, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the CFS within a community. An evaluation of child development among the children who attend in the CFS and who do not attend in the CFS was conducted. CFS was found to benefit vulnerable children and communities in terms of protective environment and child development. Children attending in the CFS had better performance at almost every child development indicator. At the community level, child labor decreased in the areas where CFS exists. To respond to the continuing threats of child insecurity, this study presents a set of recommendations for the sustainability of the CFS in the community.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Bangladesh; Child development; Child protection; Child rights; Child-Friendly space; NGO