Child Trafficking
What is child trafficking?
Trafficking is where children and young people tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold. Children are trafficked for:
- #Sexual
- #benefit fraud
- #forced marriage
- #domestic slavery like cleaning, cooking and childcare
- #forced labour in factories or agriculture
- #committing crimes, like begging, theft, working on cannabis farms or moving drugs.
Trafficked children experience many types of abuse and neglect. Traffickers use physical, sexual and emotional abuse as a form of control. Children and young people are also likely to be physically and emotionally neglected and may be sexually exploited.
Types of child trafficking
Traffickers often groom children, families and communities to gain their trust. They may also threaten families with violence or threats. Traffickers often promise children and families that they'll have a better future elsewhere.
Trafficking is also an economic crime. Traffickers may ask families for money for providing documents or transport and they'll make a profit from money a child "earns" through exploitation, forced labour or crime. They'll often be told this money is to pay off a debt they or their family "owe" to the traffickers.
Traffickers may:
- work alone or in small groups, recruiting a small number of children, often from areas they know and live in
- be medium-sized groups who recruit, move and exploit children and young people on a small scale
- be large criminal networks that operate internationally with high-level corruption, money laundering and a large numbers of victims.
- Causess of child Trafficking
Poverty
Poverty is the leading cause for child trafficking worldwide. Often parents are not able to provide for their families and consequentially exploit their children for financial reasons. These influencers lead to children being more inclined to take riskier jobs in order to sustain life for themselves and their families. The decision for parents to expose their children for child trafficking, due to poverty, is not always for money incentives, but also because a lack of education causes them to believe that migration elsewhere will provide their children with more opportunities, which will help them escape chronic poverty. Sometimes children are orphaned as a result of poverty, leaving them in the hands of child traffickers. There are estimated to be around 120 million children living on the streets in the world (30 million in Africa, 30 million in Asia, and 60 million in South America), making children vulnerable and thus easy targets.
Poverty is the leading cause for child trafficking worldwide. Often parents are not able to provide for their families and consequentially exploit their children for financial reasons. These influencers lead to children being more inclined to take riskier jobs in order to sustain life for themselves and their families. The decision for parents to expose their children for child trafficking, due to poverty, is not always for money incentives, but also because a lack of education causes them to believe that migration elsewhere will provide their children with more opportunities, which will help them escape chronic poverty. Sometimes children are orphaned as a result of poverty, leaving them in the hands of child traffickers. There are estimated to be around 120 million children living on the streets in the world (30 million in Africa, 30 million in Asia, and 60 million in South America), making children vulnerable and thus easy targets.
Humanitarian Crisis
Child trafficking is 20-30% higher after natural disasters. This was seen after the 2015 earthquake and 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The increase of sex trafficking after natural disasters results in the victimization of girls under the age of 18, specifically 33% of girls under the age of 18 in such areas. The reason is increased vulnerability and financial instability which arises after natural disasters hit.
Child trafficking is 20-30% higher after natural disasters. This was seen after the 2015 earthquake and 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The increase of sex trafficking after natural disasters results in the victimization of girls under the age of 18, specifically 33% of girls under the age of 18 in such areas. The reason is increased vulnerability and financial instability which arises after natural disasters hit.
Lack of Education
A lack of education and literacy furthermore makes families more vulnerable to traffickers. Parents are often unaware of the negative consequences of child trafficking and voluntarily send their children away. Additionally, children are often not aware of their rights and lack understanding regarding which of their rights are violated. There is a need to educate children of their rights, because it will reduce the likelihood of manipulation and forced industry work. Informing children of their right to education will increase the net enrollment and grade completion rate.
How to prevent Child Trafficking?
- 1. Foster the spread of education.
- 2. Spread awareness among parents and communities.
- 3. Strict laws in place to prevent child trafficking.
- 4. Encouraging business to not use child labour.
- Conclusion
Through a joint effort of civil society and government in Child Education, Health & Nutrition, Child Protection, Humanitarian Response, lakhs of children have found hope. Relationships with Government, national and international bodies make child rights NGOs like Save the Children a driving force in resolving such issues. Child trafficking is a major social menace and the best way to deal with it is through following the “prevention is better than cure” approach.
A lack of education and literacy furthermore makes families more vulnerable to traffickers. Parents are often unaware of the negative consequences of child trafficking and voluntarily send their children away. Additionally, children are often not aware of their rights and lack understanding regarding which of their rights are violated. There is a need to educate children of their rights, because it will reduce the likelihood of manipulation and forced industry work. Informing children of their right to education will increase the net enrollment and grade completion rate.
How to prevent Child Trafficking?
Through a joint effort of civil society and government in Child Education, Health & Nutrition, Child Protection, Humanitarian Response, lakhs of children have found hope. Relationships with Government, national and international bodies make child rights NGOs like Save the Children a driving force in resolving such issues. Child trafficking is a major social menace and the best way to deal with it is through following the “prevention is better than cure” approach.
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