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.

Displaying 61 - 70 of 369

Browse Other Topics

The Legal Framework Of Orphanage Trafficking In Cambodia, Nepal And Uganda: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention (Summary Report)

Kate van Doore, Rebecca Nhep, 2021

This study assesses and maps the legal, policy and procedural frameworks in both domestic and international law across Nepal, Uganda and Cambodia, where orphanage trafficking continues to undermine domestic efforts to stem the overuse of institutionalisation of children.

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2021

This report draws on data from 148 countries and explores issues of particular relevance in the current crisis, including the impact of socio-economic factors, drivers of child trafficking and trafficking for forced labour, and traffickers’ use of the internet.

The Legal Framework of Orphanage Trafficking In Cambodia: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention

Rebecca Nhep, Kate van Doore, 2021

Orphanage trafficking occurs at the nexus of criminal law (human trafficking offences) and child protection regulation. This report examines the intersection of these two legal systems for the purpose of developing a strategy to identify and prosecute orphanage trafficking.

The Legal Framework Of Orphanage Trafficking In Nepal: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention

Kate van Doore, Rebecca Nhep, 2021

This study examines Nepal’s compliance with international legal obligations, its child protection and anti-trafficking laws, and its criminal and procedural laws that regulate illegal transfer and trafficking of children. The study also raises issues regarding victim identification, inspection of child care homes and complaint mechanisms.

The Legal Framework of Orphanage Trafficking In Uganda: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention

Rebecca Nhep, Kate van Doore, 2021

This report seeks to examine Uganda’s legal and policy framework to identify the relevant offences and mechanisms that could contribute towards the development of a prosecutorial strategy for orphanage trafficking in Uganda.

Orphanage Trafficking and Child Protection in Emergencies in Nepal: A Comparative Analysis of the 2015 Earthquake and the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Martin Punaks and Samjyor Lama - Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 15 Dec 2020

This article compares and contrasts two humanitarian emergencies and their impact on Nepal: these are the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

‘My dark heaven’: Hidden voices in orphanage tourism

Esther Bott - Annals of Tourism Research, 14 Dec 2020

This article draws on original empirical data to explore the narratives of young Nepali adults who lived in Kathmandu orphanages as children. Through these narratives, the article explores the diverse complexities of the residents' experiences of volunteer tourism and NGO ‘rescue’, and the shortcomings of recent ‘neoabolitionist’ frameworks.

View Article

Strengthening (Re)integration from Child Sexual Exploitation: Children and Young People’s Recommendations

Lopa Bhattacharjee, Helen J. Veitch - Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 03 Aug 2020

This article explores care leavers’ views and recommendations for practitioners and policymakers on the transition from leaving care to living independently in the community. The article outlines how children and young people affected by child sexual exploitation experience community reintegration, and their views on the key issues reintegration services need to consider.

View Article

Human Trafficking in the Foster Care System

Catherine G. Coughlin, Robyn R. Miller, Selina Higgins, Kidian Martinez, Christine Dipaolo, Jordan Greenbaum - Medical Perspectives on Human Trafficking in Adolescents, 02 Jul 2020

In this case, we meet Maya, an adolescent girl in foster care who is trafficked for sex.

View Article

What is known about child sexual exploitation in residential care in Australia? A systematic scoping review

Kathomi Gatwiri, Nadine Cameron, Lynne Mcpherson, Natalie Parmenter - Children and Youth Services Review, 24 Jun 2020

Employing a systematic scoping methodology, this review examined the scope and breadth of literature focusing on children and young people living in residential care in Australia who have experienced sexual exploitation.

View Article