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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Child Exploitation and Tourism at the Example of Orphanage Tourism: A Situation Analysis on the Current Situation of Orphanage Tourism in Myanmar Including a Comparison of Myanmar and Cambodia

Julia Hanel, Masters Thesis for Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, 15 Nov 2017

This thesis focused on the two questions ‘What is the current situation on orphanage tourism in Myanmar?’ and ‘What are the causes of orphanage tourism?’.

Country Care Review: Moldova

Better Care Network, 10 Nov 2017

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Right of the Child at their recent examinations of the State's report.

Violence Against Children in All Care Settings: Africa Expert Consultation (Annex)

African Child Policy Forum & Better Care Network, 09 Oct 2017

This Annex compiles the presentations delivered at the 21-22 June 2017 Africa Expert Consultation on Violence Against Children in All Care Settings and is intended to accompany the Final Report of the meeting.

Pretesting a Human Trafficking Screening Tool in the Child Welfare and Runaway and Homeless Youth Systems

Urban Institute under contract to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, 01 Oct 2017

Aiming to assist providers to identify and better serve the needs of youth victims of human trafficking, this study developed and pretested a Human Trafficking Screening Tool used to identify youth in the child welfare system and runaway and homeless youth who have experiences of trafficking,

The State of Play: How have global children and youth issues fared in the U.S. government’s Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations process?

Gillian Huebner Consultant, Elevate Children Funders Group, 29 Sep 2017

This document sheds some light on where funding discussions currently stand with regard to U.S. government programs for global children and youth issues.

Going on a short-term mission trip?

ACCI Missions & Relief, 28 Sep 2017

This animated video from ACCI Missions & Relief explains how short-term missions in orphanages are harmful to children, why volunteers should avoid volunteering in orphanages overseas, and what kind of programs should be supported instead.

Zanzibar grapples to protect children from sex tourism

Apolinari Tairo - eTurboNews Tanzania, 27 Sep 2017

High prevalence of sex tourism in Zanzibar has spurred a five year National Action Plan to end violence against children and women on the island.

The Orphan Industrial Complex: charitable commodification and its consequences for child protection in Africa

Kristen Cheney - International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands, 14 Sep 2017

This presentation delivered by Dr. Kristen Cheney describes her research findings on the "Orphan Industrial Complex," which suggest that orphan tourism, orphanage volunteering, and donor support for orphanages are the primary drivers of the unnecessary separation of children from their families and the harmful institutionalization of children.

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Harrowing Journeys: Children and youth on the move across the Mediterranean Sea, at risk of trafficking and exploitation

UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 01 Sep 2017

This joint report from UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) explores in detail survey data from the Central and Eastern Mediterranean Sea routes to Europe, focusing on adolescents and youth on the move from Africa and Asia.

Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia - Opening Statements from the Briefing on Orphanage Tourism

Parliament of Australia, 17 Aug 2017

On 17 August 2017, the Australian Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee was briefed by representatives from the Cambodian Children’s Trust and Forget Me Not Foundation on the issue of orphanage tourism. This link includes a video of the opening statements from this briefing.

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