Street children and ‘protective agency’: Exploring young people’s involvement in organised crime in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Children's agency has dominated discourse about young people in recent years, yet little is known about street children's agency in regard to involvement in organised crime, particularly in Bangladesh. Drawing on interviews with 22 street children, 80 interviews with criminal justice practitioners and 3 years of participant observation of the Bangladeshi criminal justice system, this article proposes that the concept of 'protective agency' is important for understanding how, and why, street children engage with Bangladeshi organised crime group: the mastaans.

A ‘Lens of Labor’: Re-Conceptualizing Young People’s Involvement in Organized Crime

“…The norms and expectations that result from this demonstrate the ways in which involvement of children in crime groups is closely related to the context in which it occurs; the role of criminal groups is thus multifaceted, intertwined with economic drivers and 'structures of opportunity' (Cloward and Ohlin, 1960) yet economic factors alone are unlikely to explain gang affiliation (Levitt and Venkatesh, 2000). Instead, organized crime groups in the 3 research sites provide a level of social protection (i.e., Atkinson-Sheppard, 2017), inclusion and social mobility-meaning that for some, the gang provides a viable and accessible opportunity to earn money, gain respect and inclusion and navigate challenging social hierarchies.…”

Developing Authenticity, Building Connections: Exploring Research Methodologies in Asia

“…The Bangladesh study was my PhD and felt ‘authentic to me’ largely because I was responsible for the data collection and analysis. The year-long embedded case study with the street children provided the time and space to develop trust and rapport with the young people, ensuring the study was young person led and underpinned by strong ethical principles of child protection, confidentiality and anonymity (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2017a , 2017b ). The more I learned about the realities of street children’s lives the more invested in the research I became (illustrated in a number of studies into street children, i.e.…”

Decolonizing children’s agency: Perspectives of children in an Urdu-speaking Bihari camp in Bangladesh

“…They argue that to develop a holistic understanding of children’s agency, it is essential to dig deep into 'children’s perceptions of their vulnerability, frailty and need’ (Mizen and Ofosu-Kusi, 2013: 369). Sally Atkinson-Sheppard’s (2017) research on street children in Bangladesh also finds agency problematic because children join gangs and get involved in organised crimes. She interrogates the usefulness of using an ‘agency lens' in such a context, as this undercuts children’s vulnerabilities within the structural and cultural constraints in which they live (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2017: 425).…”

“…Sally Atkinson-Sheppard’s (2017) research on street children in Bangladesh also finds agency problematic because children join gangs and get involved in organised crimes. She interrogates the usefulness of using an ‘agency lens' in such a context, as this undercuts children’s vulnerabilities within the structural and cultural constraints in which they live (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2017: 425). Thus, she argues for a rigorous consideration of the contexts and conditions in which some children decide to get involved in organised criminal groups.…”