Survival and Resilience of Female Street Children Experiencing Sexual Violence in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study.

The goal of this exploratory study was to inspect and comprehend the phenomenon of female street children who left their homes and came to the streets for survival. The study explored any violent experience (i.e., sexual violence) they had, their feedback about the support they receive from the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It also aimed to explore their hopes, aspiration, resilience and their thoughts about their lives, despite the challenges they faced. The study utilized qualitative methodology and information was collected through open-ended questions. The study was guided by resilience theory to understand the coping strategy and resilience among these children. Twelve female children between the ages 13-14 were selected from the local NGOs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. For analysis purposes, the study utilized grounded theory and identified three themes. These themes include Reasons for moving to the streets, experience of living on the streets and hopes and aspiration: Resilience. Majority of the respondents experienced sexual violence and despite all the challenges many of these children could still dream of a pleasant future.