New era | MIU hosts seminar on children’s rights and prevention of sexual abuse

A seminar on children’s rights, sexual abuse, human trafficking and protection was held on Sunday in the conference room of the Manarat International University in the capital’s Gulshan district.

The MIU organized the seminar entitled “Red Heart Campaign to Promote the Rights of Sexually Abused, Exploited and Trafficked Children” in collaboration with its Sexual Violence Prevention Cell, the Center for Women and Children Studies.

Dr. Mekhala Sarkar, Member of the Board of Trustees of the University and Associate Professor, National Institute of Mental Health, was present as the Guest of Honour while Acting Vice Chancellor of MIU, Professor Md Abdus Sabur Khan was present as the Special Guest of the seminar.
Professor Ishrat Shamim, President of the Centre for Women and Child Studies, delivered the welcome address at the seminar presided over by Nargis Sultana Chowdhury, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology and Head of the University’s Sexual Abuse Prevention Cell.

Mekhala Sarkar urged parents to pay attention to how their children interact with each other: “They should pay attention to where the children are, who they talk to and who they surround themselves with.”

Children should be taught from a young age which contact is good and which is bad. Only then would undesirable incidents such as sexual abuse be greatly reduced in society, she added.

Abdus Sabur Khan urged students to reduce their dependence on devices to prevent sexual harassment and abuse.

Device addiction is the main cause of all unwanted incidents faced by girls including sexual abuse, so to minimize device addiction, one needs to trust and rely on someone after carefully screening and being aware of them, he said.