'58 pc city street girls engaged in prostitution'
Staff Correspondent
Fifty-eight per cent of street girls in the city, who are aged between 12- 18, are engaged in prostitution which leads them to drug addiction, says a survey report. The survey was conducted by Misplaced Children (MC), a non-government organisation working with the street children. The MC revealed it at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday on the basis of its survey conducted on the street children in the city. The survey shows that involvement in prostitution and drug addiction has created psychological disaster among the street children. Drug addiction is not only confined to street children, it is also pervasive among the children of other classes, the survey said. But the street children are more vulnerable than children of any other group as they pass their life outside the periphery of social security, the survey added. The MC officials said street children are also becoming vulnerable to AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) due to repeated use of syringe for taking drugs. They urged the government to bring the treatment cost of drug addicts within the ability of the street children so that they can get rid of it.They also called for stern action against drug traders. MC Project Director AKM Masud Ali, Aminul Islam and Selim Chowdhury also spoke at the press conference.
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