72. The BNHRC takes into consideration the report that in Barisal District, of 181 cases filed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Women and Children Act 2000, 59 cases were dropped without prosecution and only two led to conviction. The officer in charge of the BRAC legal aid services said that because Barisal has a well-functioning One Stop Crisis Centre, it gets cases with good evidence but still faces a serious problem: many witnesses do not turn up at court on hearing days; the victim's family was intimidated by the accused and/or a settlement was reached out of court; sons of wealthy families who raped girls tended to be locals with permanent addresses, whereas victims were often outsiders living in temporary accommodations, who often moved away and could not be traced during the prosecution and trial process.99 73. In the BNHRC’s view, the legal provisions concerning protection of children against inducement or coercion to engage in unlawful sexual activity should be harmonized. The GoB should enhance its efficiency as regards implementation of the relevant laws and case management system and should provide more detail information on this matter in its next State party report. 74. PROTECTION AGAINST EXPLOITATIVE USE IN PROSTITUTION The BNHRC notes that there exist differences as regards punishment for the offence of trafficking in children with the intention of engaging him or her in prostitution in the Prevention of Cruelty to Women and Children Act 2000100and the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012.101 The BNHRC urges implementation of the law that no child above the age of 4 years shall be allowed to reside in or visit red light districts102 and which prohibits engaging a child in prostitution by a person entrusted with care or custody of a child.103 75. In Bangladesh a girl attaining 18 years of age may swear an affidavit stating that she has freely taken up prostitution and such a document has been interpreted as a license to operate in government-recognized brothels (where the police are officially mandated to keep law and order). Though prostitution below the age of 18 is illegal, children below that age have long engaged in it. However, given the absence of birth registrations and the use of false documentation, implementation of this requirement has been arbitrary. Brothel culture has effectively sanctioned the practice of introducing into the trade daughters of prostitutes and bonded girls as young as 12 years old.104 99 UNICEF, Sexual Abuse and Commercial Exploitation of Children: Elements for a National Strategy and Plane of Action, Bangladesh Country Office, March 2011, p. 21. 100 Supra 11, Section 5(1). 101 The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012, Section 11. 102 Supra 15, Section 77. 103 Ibid, Section 78. 104 Supra 98, at p. 45. 27