Bangladesh faces concerns over child trafficking and irregular adoption as an investigation finds online advertisements, alleged payments and gaps in child protection….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Bangladesh is facing growing concerns over the commercial transfer of children, irregular adoption arrangements and potential trafficking, with investigations identifying social media advertisements offering children for money and private intermediaries allegedly profiting from placements. The findings highlight gaps in oversight, birth registration and child-protection services, prompting calls for stronger enforcement and a transparent system for adoption and guardianship.
An investigation reviewed by Bangladesh ISHR examined publicly accessible Facebook groups and identified advertisements seeking or offering children under the description of adoption. Some reportedly involved direct financial negotiations, advance payments and intermediaries connecting families with prospective recipients.
The report cautioned that not every private adoption or guardianship arrangement amounts to trafficking, and that families experiencing poverty or personal crises should not automatically be treated as offenders. The principal concern, it said, arises when children become subjects of financial transactions, consent is influenced by economic hardship, or transfers take place without independent legal oversight.
The scale of the alleged activity remains difficult to establish because many cases fall outside formal government records. The report described this lack of reliable information as a significant child-protection concern.
How are children allegedly being offered for money in Bangladesh?
The investigation examined 39 public Facebook groups and reviewed 288 posts from a sample of those groups. Of these, 34 sought children for adoption, while 63 offered children, according to the report.
Some advertisements referred to newborns, boys, girls and twins, while others specified ages and characteristics. The investigation documented an offer involving a six-month-old boy for Tk 200,000. Other contacts reportedly sought payments of Tk 100,000 or more.
An intermediary allegedly described a system through which pregnant women who did not wish or were unable to keep their babies could be identified through hospitals and connected with prospective recipients. According to the account cited in the report, payments could reach approximately Tk 300,000 for a newborn boy and Tk 200,000 for a girl, with intermediaries receiving commissions.
The report also identified an alleged offer involving a toddler for Tk 350,000. The child’s father reportedly said the money would be used in connection with a marital dispute.
Such cases raise concerns about the treatment of children as transferable property, the report said. Arrangements involving prospective parents seeking to relocate children abroad, or agreements made before birth, could also compromise informed consent and leave questions over parentage, identity and guardianship unresolved.
The allegations require independent investigation and should not be treated as proof that every transaction described as adoption is unlawful.
Why are informal adoption and guardianship arrangements raising concerns?
The investigation also examined a private organisation that reportedly presented itself as providing assistance with the legal guardianship of newborn or orphaned children.
According to the report, the organisation used application forms for prospective recipients and charged a service fee. Additional payments could reportedly be made to a child’s family and towards childbirth-related expenses, bringing the total financial arrangement close to Tk 200,000.
The report raised concerns that children were allegedly transferred after signatures and affidavits without subsequent completion of formal judicial guardianship proceedings. It also recorded an account in which a recipient allegedly planned to register a child as his biological offspring.
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If established, such practices could undermine a child’s legal identity, parentage, inheritance rights, access to medical history and ability to discover their origins.
Bangladesh’s legal arrangements distinguish between guardianship and other forms of child placement, while family-law provisions vary according to religious personal law. The Children Act 2013 also provides mechanisms for alternative care for children requiring protection.
The report called for a clear regulatory framework ensuring that private arrangements cannot be used to bypass lawful procedures or commercialise the transfer of children.
How serious is Bangladesh’s missing-children problem?
Police Headquarters clarified in September 2026 that 15,717 children aged up to 17 had been reported missing between January and July 2026. Of these, 13,679 had been rescued or returned to their families, while 2,038 remained untraced at the time of the clarification.
The figures do not establish a direct connection between missing children and trafficking or commercial transfers. However, unresolved disappearances require effective investigation and follow-up, the report said.
It recommended better coordination between police investigations, trafficking inquiries, birth registration authorities, hospitals, border controls, residential institutions and child-protection services.
Birth registration remains another challenge. According to Bangladesh’s 2025 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, only 59.2 per cent of children under five had their births registered with a civil authority.
The report noted that children without reliable identity documents can be harder to trace following an unlawful transfer. It called for expanded registration services, including hospital-based registration and targeted assistance for marginalised families.
What laws protect children from trafficking in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh has several legal protections addressing the sale and exploitation of children. The Penal Code contains provisions under sections 372 and 373 concerning the sale or purchase of minors for certain unlawful purposes.
The report also highlights the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Act 2026, which replaced the 2012 legislation. According to the report, the new law defines a child as anyone under 18 and includes exploitation through adoption for a dishonest purpose within its definition of exploitation.
It also criminalises the theft of a newborn from a hospital, maternity facility, childcare facility or the custody of parents or another person for trafficking purposes. The legislation provides for investigation, specialised tribunals, protection of child victims and witnesses, rehabilitation and cooperation between agencies.
Bangladesh is also a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2000.
However, the report argues that legislation alone cannot ensure effective protection without adequate enforcement, trained personnel and support for vulnerable families.
What measures does the report recommend?
Bangladesh ISHR has called on the government to establish a unified framework for adoption, guardianship and alternative care, with independent verification, documented consent and judicial or authorised governmental oversight.
It recommends specialised investigations into online advertisements offering or seeking children, with police cyber units and social welfare authorities working together to preserve digital evidence and identify potential networks.
The report also calls for stronger regulation of private organisations involved in child placements, mandatory licensing and record-keeping, financial investigations into suspected trafficking proceeds, and a coordinated national database for missing children.
Expanding social protection is another priority. The report argues that poverty, inadequate maternal support, limited healthcare and insufficient family-based care can leave vulnerable families susceptible to financial pressure.
It recommends strengthening the professional social-service workforce, expanding family support and foster-care options, and improving public awareness of the free Child Helpline 1098, which provides assistance concerning violence, abuse and exploitation.
The report concludes that Bangladesh must combine law enforcement with social protection, legal oversight, birth registration and survivor-centred rehabilitation to prevent children from being bought, sold or transferred outside lawful procedures. It identifies the effective implementation of existing protections, rather than legislation alone, as the central test of the country’s child-protection system.
