Child Sexual Exploitation

What is Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children?

The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a fundamental violation of children's rights. It comprises sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons. The child is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children, and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery.

There are three primary and interrelated forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children: prostitution, pornography, and trafficking for sexual purposes.

How Many Children Are At Risk?

To be honest, an exact number is not known. However, there is an estimation that over 1 million children are forced into the sex industry every year. However, this estimate is truly only a guess. The reason is that it is difficult to get foreign governments to admit there is a problem. Another difficulty is that most sexual exploitation exist in lower class brothels in regions like Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. However, this does not provide an accurate account of all cases or the extent of the problem.

How Does This Effect the Child?

The most immediate danger exploited children face is physical violence from those who exploit them, including the pimps or madams, traffickers and customers. There are many chilling accounts told by children of being slapped, kicked, beaten unconscious, burned with cigarettes, and raped for refusing to work.

Children are even more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases than adults, including HIV infection and AIDS, as their body tissues are more easily damaged. Children who are exploited are often not in a position to negotiate safe sex; furthermore, many lack access to education about AIDS and safe sex practices.

Tests conducted by officials reveal that the rate of HIV infection among prostituted Nigerian girls deported from Italy last year was in excess of 50%. According to one Cambodian non governmental organization, as many as 70% of the girls rescued from brothels have been infected with HIV.

Psychological impacts of sexual exploitation are harder to measure, but no less painful for the child. Many children who have been exploited report feelings of shame, guilt and low self esteem. Some children do not believe they are worthy of rescue.
Others create a different reality and say that prostitution was their choice - that they want to help support their family or that their pimp is really their boyfriend who loves them.

Some suffer from stigmatization or the knowledge that they were betrayed by someone that they had trusted. Others suffer from nightmares, sleeplessness, hopelessness and depression - akin to the feelings exhibited in victims of torture. To cope, some children attempt suicide or turn to substance abuse.

Who Sexually Exploits Children?

These people come from all walks of life and social backgrounds. They can be found in any profession and in any nation. They may be heterosexual or homosexual, and although the majority of child sex offenders are male, they may also be female.

So, How Do We Stop The Problem?

The obvious answer to this is education and awareness. Another answer is to get involved in the lawmaking process. Ask your congressman, representative and senator to pass laws that forbid foreign aid to countries who do not adopt anti-child exploitation laws in their country. Ask for law in this country that toughen up the penalties for child abuse and child pornography. You can find your Senator and Representative at this link.