Child Exploitation

Child trafficking is a form of child abuse. It is the exploitation of children for economic or sexual purposes, and includes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for exploitation. Children may be sold, illegally adopted, forced into early marriage, recruited into the armed forces, pushed into prostitution, or trafficked to work in mines, factories, or homes. In such environments they are exposed to extreme forms of abuse and are denied access to basic services and the meeting of their fundamental human rights. Trafficked children often lack basic legal status and support networks, making their condition virtually "invisible."

Children without parental care, living in poverty, and those in high risk environments such as war affected regions, are all highly vulnerable to trafficking. Conflict and post conflict environments pose the greatest risk to children since the breakdown in family and social systems, the increase in poverty, and large numbers of troops present, are all factors which make sexual and economic exploitation of children more common.

Prevention is crucial to reduce the incidence of children affected and includes the registering of all displaced children, and their temporary care until verification and family reunification activities can take place. All children, caretakers, and communities should be educated on the risks to children and protective steps to ensure children do not become separated and exposed to abuse and exploitation. Where possible, unaccompanied children should be placed in regulated and protective family environments such as kinship or foster care.

Governments, the police, border controls, teachers, and all organizations responsible for protection must work together to prevent trafficking, identify those children at risk, advocate for their safety, and prosecute those responsible. This includes awareness raising for communities, institutions, and personnel working with vulnerable groups, such as armed forces, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers.

Support services for children who have been trafficked should include medical, psychosocial, family reunification, and legal elements, to facilitate the reintegration of the child into the community and to enable educational and economic opportunities which are in the child’s best interests.

This section of documents examines the nature of trafficking in more detail, and includes policy and practical information to prevent and respond to child exploitation.

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Technical Note: COVID-19 and Child Labour

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 06 May 2020

This technical note offers guidance and information to practitioners and policy-makers on child labour issues during and after COVID-19 and what actions can be taken.

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Alternative Care Thailand, 12 Apr 2020

This animated video from Alternative Care Thailand tells the story of a boy in Thailand who is sent to live in an orphanage because his mother feels she is unable to care for him at home, his experiences with volunteers once he arrives at the orphanage, and how the orphanage transitioned to supporting children to live in families.

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Regulating Australia’s Participation in the Orphanage Industry

Kathryn E. van Doore - Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 04 Apr 2020

This article traces the evolution of the recognition of orphanage trafficking broadly, and then focusses on recommendations made by the Australian government following the release of its 2017 Hidden in Plain Sight Report.

Mapping U.S. Support for Orphanages Abroad: Key Findings & Strategic Recommendations

Better Care Network and ReThink Orphanages, 01 Apr 2020

This report lays out the results of a preliminary mapping exercise to document the ways in which the United States supports and perpetuates overseas orphanages. It is based on: an analysis of existing data; a literature review of U.S government publications and investments; a review of non-profit organizations and foundation activities; an analysis of key supply chains and stakeholders; and the identification of existing data gaps.

Experiences of trafficked and sexually exploited boys transitioning from shelter programmes into the community: Findings from a longitudinal study

Laura Cordisco Tsai, Vanntheary Lim, Channtha Nhanh - Children & Society, 30 Mar 2020

This article explores the perspectives of Cambodian boys who have experienced human trafficking and sexual exploitation on their experiences transitioning out of shelters and re‐entering the community.

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Residential instability, running away, and juvenile detention characterizes commercially sexually exploited youth involved in Washington State’s child welfare system

Michael D. Pullmann, Norene Roberts, Elizabeth M. Parker, Kelly J. Mangiaracina, Leslie Briner, Morgan Silverman, Jeremy R. Becker - Child Abuse & Neglect, 15 Feb 2020

The purpose of this study was to describe the demographics, state-dependent living situations, and juvenile detention usage of state-dependent commercially sexually exploited youth.

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Country Care Review: Rwanda

Better Care Network, 10 Feb 2020

This Country Care Review includes the care-related concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.

Sexual Exploitation of Children in Nepal: Briefing Paper

ECPAT International, 28 Jan 2020

This briefing paper has been compiled using information included in the Out of the Shadows Index - which measures a country’s response to child sexual exploitation and abuse - and the ECPAT Country Overview for Nepal. The brief highlights the risk of sexual exploitation resulting from voluntourism practices, including volunteering in or visiting orphanages.

Partnerships with Overseas ‘Orphanages’: Implications of the Modern Slavery Act 2018

ReThink Orphanages Australia and the ACFID Child Rights Community of Practice, 2020

This briefing note was developed by ReThink Orphanages Australia and the ACFID Child Rights Community of Practice to assist entities in Australia and abroad who have orphanages in their supply chains and/or operations to understand the implications of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018.

"Internett er et Stort Mørkt Rom": Håndtering av risiko for seksuell utnytting over internett på barnevernsinstitusjon

Save the Children Norway, 2020

This report from Save the Children Norway explores what child welfare institutions in Norway are doing to protect children in their care from the risk of online sexual offences.