Juvenile delinquency in the slum community: A study on Tejgaon area in Dhaka city

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to recognize the existing juvenile delinquency situation of the slum community in Dhaka City. The study aims to investigate the socio-economic and cultural livelihood pattern of the slum dwellers especially of the children in terms to their affiliation with daily dietary pattern, education and health condition and types of activities they involve in due to live in that particular slum. It also attempts to know the kinds of occupation in which the slum children are either forced or compelled to be engaged and investigate the types of offences term to be juvenile delinquency in which the children are somehow involved and reasons behind their involvement. This is basically a cross-section study that was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 150 children out of all children of both sexes of specific age group living in the slums of the study area. As research methods, Sample Survey and Case Study were used. Moreover ‘Simple Random Sampling’ as informant selection technique; and ‘Interview’, and ‘Observation’ as data collection technique were applied to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from the informants. The researcher had selected some major points of the slums where the children are normally congregated. It also considered all boys and girls as population who lived in the slums. A pre-tested, semi-structured interview schedule and a checklist were used for data collection. In the study, fifteen case studies were done for in-depth understanding of their survival patterns. Beside primary data, different journals, magazines, newspaper, research paper and few other written documents closely relevant to the study topic were considered as secondary sources of data. For this study, the researcher selected three slums under the Tejgaon Thana to take the needed sample. These are Nakhalpara Bastee, Tejkunipara Bastee and Karwan Bazar Bastee located in the centre position of Dhaka Metropolitan City. The general findings of the study reflect the situation of acute vulnerability and pathetic livelihood pattern of the entire slum community irrespective of age and sex, and religion as well. As the existing environment is found bit dirty and unhealthy for living a normal and expected life, this is really hampering the rights to live of the slum people especially the growing up children who are to be considered the future of the nation. In the last segment of the report, there some specific recommendations placed that might be very helpful for the social elite or the concern authorities in case of taking any sort of decision further to ensure better livelihood with full of human rights of the slum dwellers.