Kathmandu, Ashoj 5 - The issue of child safety in Madhesh Province has been on the rise after a number of incidents of child abduction, sexual violence and child killings were reported, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing protection mechanisms.
In the past few years, children have gone missing in Dhanusha, Saptari and Bara while playing around their homes. A 15-month-old boy, who was missing in Dhanusha for 11 days, was found after his parents reported him missing on September 3. He was found with another woman in police custody, who police said they suspect took him on a journey around Nepal and India before dropping him off near his home.
A two-year-old girl who went missing while playing outside her house in Saptari was found dead and the police detained her stepmother. The rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Jeetpur-Simara in Bara led to outcry and criticism of initial police response. As per the data at Madhesh Provincial Police, a total of 189 rape cases of girls and children aged below 17 were recorded in the last fiscal year of 2025/26, along with 21 attempted rape cases, 29 child sexual abuse cases, and four cases of abduction and rape.
INSEC Madhesh has reported 89 sexual violence cases in the first six months of 2026 and 145 in 2025. The Bara case is also leading to recommendations for review of Nepal's laws pertaining to serious crimes. The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs is to put in place a seven-member committee to see into the existing offences and punishments and recommend any possible amendments.
Child protection advocates say legal reforms must be accompanied by faster reporting and response mechanisms, stronger school safeguarding measures and greater coordination among parents, schools, local governments and police to protect children at risk.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
