Human Trafficking in [Afghanistan] [other countries]
Street Children in [Afghanistan] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Afghanistan] [other countries]
 

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Afghanistan [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Afghanistan is located astride the land routes between the Indian subcontinent, Iran, and central Asia [map]. It is bordered by Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan remains extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, farming, and trade with neighboring countries. It will probably take the remainder of the decade and continuing donor aid and attention to raise Afghanistan's living standards up from its current status among the lowest in the world. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs, but the Afghan government and international donors remain committed to improving access to these basic necessities by prioritizing infrastructure development, education, housing development, jobs programs, and economic reform.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Afghanistan. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

UNICEF - The Big Picture

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Afghanistan, and Years Missing

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Afghanistan is a country of origin and transit for children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced marriage, labor, domestic servitude, slavery, crime, and the removal of body organs. Since early 2003, there have been increasing reports of children reported as missing throughout the country. It is also reported that impoverished Afghan families have sold their children into forced sexual exploitation, marriage, and labor.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006

CHILDREN - According to a recent UNHCR report, the practice of using young boys as objects of pleasure by commanders, tribal leaders, and others was more than a rare occurrence. Such relations were often coercive and opportunistic in that more influential, older men were taking advantage of the poor economic situation of some families and young males, leaving them with little choice. There were also a few documented cases of abduction of young boys for sexual exploitation by commanders. The MOI recorded at least 130 cases of rape of young boys during the year. There were no child labor laws or other legislation to protect child abuse victims.

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – There were continued reports of poor families promising young girls in marriage to satisfy family debts. There were a number of reports that children, particularly from the south and southeast, were trafficked to Pakistan to work in factories, or internally for commercial sexual exploitation in brothels.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - Trafficking victims, especially those trafficked for sexual exploitation, faced societal discrimination, particularly in their home villages, and the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

At year's end according to the AIHRC, authorities repatriated 317 children from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Zambia, and Oman. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, with the assistance of UNICEF, set up a transit center to assist with these returns, and other agencies such as the AIHRC helped with the children's reunification and reintegration.

ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC]

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan has conducted surveys in four camps in Pakistan, and discovered that many children have become involved in prostitution. Many children have ended up on the streets where they often lack basic education and live in extreme poverty. Additionally, many of them are in deep depression and addicted to opium. Save the Environment - Afghanistan is therefore alerting attention towards these children who are all highly vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. Also within the borders of Afghanistan, children as young as eight and nine have been reported to be prostituted in Taliban-controlled areas.

Report Documents Poverty And Social Misery In Afghanistan

Children have been the primary victims of more than two decades of conflict. Of the estimated 1.5 million people killed during this period, some 300,000 were children. Abduction and trafficking in children is now a rapidly growing threat, with the most common forms of trafficking being child prostitution, forced labor, slavery, servitude and the removal of body organs.

Afghanistan: Report

TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION - Female trafficking for sexual purposes is a thriving business in Afghanistan. Girls are purchased from within Afghanistan and trafficked through Pakistan for destinations in the Gulf, Iran, and elsewhere to be wives or prostitutes. According to reports from the field, young boys are also trafficked through channels leading to the Gulf area. Some children and adolescents remain in Pakistan, where distinct brothels exist for Afghans. The children most likely to be trafficked for sexual purposes are girls, those from tribal groups and ethnic minorities, stateless persons and refugees, and those living in poverty. Other incidents of trafficking of children for sexual purposes have been reported.

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Human Trafficking in [Afghanistan] [other countries]
Street Children in [Afghanistan] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Afghanistan] [other countries]