findings V: gender impacts
72
Impact of Restrictions on Trafficking and Child Marriage
The deteriorating conditions in the camps, caused in large part by government restrictions, have also
led to trafficking of women and girls and an increase in child marriage. Families increasingly fear
that their unmarried daughters will face assault and abuse in the camps. To avoid the personal and
cultural impacts associated with SGBV, families see child marriage as one of the only routes available
to safeguard their daughters, effectively making the decision to trade one form of SGBV for another.
Some respondents reported that the rise in desperate attempts
to find marriage partners for daughters has led to an increase
in trafficking. Khadija, a 24-year-old Rohingya woman, said,
“Many people take our girls with the promise of taking them to Malaysia
and Saudi Arabia, but those girls are trafficked and sold. . . they don’t
actually marry the girls and [after] abusing them for some days, they
are sent back here.” 136 Despite the dangers of trafficking, families
are willing to take the risk because “Our single daughters are
unsafe living here,” said Aziza, a 38-year-old Rohingya woman. 137
To avoid the personal and cultural
impacts associated with SGBV,
families see child marriage as
one of the only routes available
to safeguard their daughters,
effectively making the decision to
trade one form of SGBV for another.
The societal consequences are severe for Rohingya women who experience sexual abuse. “Some
Bangladeshi humanitarians are exploiting our girls,” said Khadija. “They offer our girls to marry or provide
jobs and take the girls out of the camp by lying. They don’t actually marry the girls and after abusing them
for some days, they are sent back here. Such girls lose dignity, and she can’t get married
ever again and she is not viewed properly by the society.” 138
136
137
138
Interview C17F
Interview C25F
Interview C17F
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