What is child trafficking?
The modus operandi is usually the same: Middlemen promise a better life
with the prospect of money, education or a good job to the child, and take
the child to a place not known to him in or outside the country. This
usually takes place with the approval of the deceived victim or his
family. However, there are also cases of kidnapping and abduction. The
intermediaries or the traffickers operate on their own or are part of an
organized criminal network. The goal is always monetary gains through
exploitation of children for various purposes (such as working in the
industry or agriculture, forced prostitution, begging).
How many children fall prey to child traffickers each
year?
The figures of child trafficking are based on estimations.
International organizations estimate that the number of children traded
each year is approximately 1.2 million.
What is the annual turnover in child trafficking?
According to UN organizations, apart from the trade in weapons and
drugs, trade in human beings has developed into one of the most lucrative
illegal growth markets. The UN reckons that the yearly profits are
somewhere in the region of seven billion dollars; other estimates are
considerably higher.
Is child trafficking primarily a Third World phenomenon?
Child trafficking is a global phenomenon. Since the fall of the Iron
Curtain, the problem has also spread to Central Europe. Children from the
neighboring countries of Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe are
trafficked into Western Europe. It is also the destination for boys, and
especially girls, from Asia, Africa and Latin America, who are traded in
the European Union and Switzerland. The children are forced to steal, kept
as domestic help, used as drug peddlers or exploited sexually as
prostitutes and for pornographic films. Even adoption child trafficking
has a clientele in the EU countries.
What are the causes of child trafficking?
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Poverty:
The gap between the rich and the
poor is becoming increasingly larger. Lack of local prospects,
unemployment and a large number of children make parents susceptible
to the promises of money or education for their children given by
the traffickers. The young boys and girls leave their village to
escape the miserable living conditions. |
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Modernization And Globalization:
A
globalized economy with internationally regulated financial markets,
and the growth of the free market economy have triggered subsistence
crises at the local level. The requirement of cheap labor has led to
a market for child slaves. The expansion of international tourism
has also created a demand for cheap labor and especially for cheap
sex, and this demand is fulfilled increasingly by children. Open
borders, faster transportation systems, and improved communication
technologies have also managed to create the operative conditions
for an international trade in human beings that is usually in the
hands of organized criminal networks. |
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Culture:
In some cultures, it is customary
that the children will work away from the family and contribute to
support the family and show their gratitude towards their parents
through money or gifts.
Moreover, in many countries, girls and
women have little value. As a result, they are even more threatened
by traffickers of human beings. For example, in the male-dominated
society of Asia, boys get more encouragement and so they have a
better chance of learning a trade. Visits to brothels are also
generally accepted. |
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Lack Of Information And Awareness:
Simple
people in rural areas are usually uneducated and do not have any
perception of the reality outside their village. They can be easily
deceived by the traffickers. |
|
Corruption And Collaboration:
Networks of
traffickers can operate with impunity because they are protected by
corrupt and indifferent governments and authorities, and as a result
there is no effective criminal
prosecution. |
Is there a realistic chance of controlling child
trafficking?
Yes. If the countries involved act together and give more priority to
the fight against child trafficking than before. Some of the campaign
activities are aimed at making the governments more aware of this
responsibility.
Prevention plays an important role in the fight
against child trafficking. Families at risk must be warned and informed.
Most of these families live in extreme poverty or under very difficult
conditions and have no idea of what awaits them – coercion, rape, and
unpaid labor. Therefore, in addition to supporting the victims, terre des
hommes stresses on the importance of informing people in its campaign.
However, it is also clear that ultimately, child trafficking is always
the result of an unequal distribution of wealth. Only a determined fight
against poverty can eliminate the root cause of child trafficking.
What is the duration of the International Campaign Against Child
Trafficking by terre des hommes?
Till 2005, but the fight against child trafficking will continue even
after that.
