Human Trafficking in [Benin] [other countries]Street Children in [Benin] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Benin |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children In the
first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
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CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** The
Protection Project - Benin [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Benin, along with Togo, has one
of the greatest problems with child trafficking of all the countries in West
and Central Africa. Child labor and
sexual exploitation are the predominant forms of trafficking. For example,
children are trafficked from Benin to Gabon for domestic servitude. Also, many children who are trafficked from
Benin to other neighboring West African countries are forced to work in
agricultural plantations and mines.
Children are trafficked from Benin to Côte d’Ivoire to work on
plantations, as servants, or on the streets in prostitution. A tradition involving the use of
female slaves, known as trokosi or “wives of the
deity,” is a modern-day form of slavery that originated in the Ewe and Dangme peoples in south and east Ghana, and also in Togo
and Benin. Under this tradition, young virgins are brought to a shrine to
compensate for a crime or transgression committed by their families, perhaps
even generations earlier. The girls live as slaves to the priest. If a girl
dies, the family sends a new one to replace her. The trokosi
work in the household, clean the shrine, and are
used as sex slaves. ***
ARCHIVES *** www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/AF/Global_Monitoring_Report-BENIN.pdf Hardly any statistics or national
studies on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) are
available in Benin, and the subject is taboo in Beninese culture. There is
evidence that the commercial sexual exploitation of children is perpetrated
or facilitated by people from almost all strata of society, including bar
owners, taxi-motorbike riders, lorry drivers, sailors, night guards
(watchmen), teachers and members of the defence
forces. Poverty is a strong causal factor, and the high poverty level in the
country has forced children to contribute to the family income by sometimes
working in environments that make them vulnerable to exploitation in
commercial sex. Some children are also reportedly pushed into prostitution by
parents and other relatives. A large number of children are
sexually exploited by teachers in return for better grades, particularly in
public schools. The teachers take advantage of their position to pressure
students into sexual acts, and those who refuse receive minor grades
regardless of the quality of their school work and tests. The situation is so
serious that some students have started to act as pimps to get youngsters to
provide sexual services for the teachers. U.S. Dept
of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - It is illegal to prostitute a minor in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Child prostitution
mainly involved girls whose poor families urged them to become prostitutes to
provide income. Some children were abused sexually by teachers who sought sex
for better grades and lured to exchange sex for money by older men who acted
as their "protectors." Unlike in previous years, there were no
reports of sexual tourism or reports that adult males preferred young girls
because they were viewed as less demanding and less likely to have HIV/AIDS.
NGOs and international organizations organized assistance to child
prostitution victims and worked on prevention programs. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2006 [DOC] [69] The Committee welcomes the inter-ministerial order
penalizing sexual violence in schools, but it expresses its concern at
reports of sexual abuse and exploitation of children and regrets the lack of
information in the State party report on the scope of the problem and
measures taken to combat these practices.
While welcoming the adoption of the Code on Persons and the Family
which sets the legal age for marriage for boys and girls at 18, the Committee
regrets the lack of clarity on the legal minimum age of sexual consent as
there is no provision to this effect in the State party’s domestic
legislation. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 1999 [32] The absence of adequate
information, including disaggregated statistical data, on the situation of
sexual exploitation of children is a matter of concern for the Committee. In
the light of article 34 and other related articles of the Convention, the
Committee recommends that the State party undertake studies with a view to
designing and implementing appropriate policies and measures, including care
and rehabilitation, to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children.
It also recommends that the State party reinforce its legislative framework
to fully protect children from all forms of sexual abuse or exploitation,
including within the family. It is also recommended that the State party
consider the ratification of the Convention for the Suppression of the
Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of
1949. ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for
Action [DOC] www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – The
Protection Project - Benin [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Benin, along with Togo, has one
of the greatest problems with child trafficking of all the countries in West
and Central Africa. Child labor and sexual
exploitation are the predominant forms of trafficking. For example, children
are trafficked from Benin to Gabon for domestic servitude. Also, many children who are trafficked from
Benin to other neighboring West African countries are forced to work in
agricultural plantations and mines.
Children are trafficked from Benin to Côte d’Ivoire to work on
plantations, as servants, or on the streets in prostitution. A tradition involving the use of
female slaves, known as trokosi or “wives of the
deity,” is a modern-day form of slavery that originated in the Ewe and Dangme peoples in south and east Ghana, and also in Togo
and Benin. Under this tradition, young virgins are brought to a shrine to
compensate for a crime or transgression committed by their families, perhaps
even generations earlier. The girls live as slaves to the priest. If a girl
dies, the family sends a new one to replace her. The trokosi
work in the household, clean the shrine, and are
used as sex slaves. www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/IRC/articles.asp?articleID=5&NewsID=5 SEX
TOURISM - Child sex
tourism has also been reported in Togo and Benin, where hoteliers are known
to be recruiting young girls to satisfy their customers’ sexual needs. OBSTACLES - There is a paucity of
information on the issue. This is primarily the result of taboos and stigma
attached to CSEC, the underground nature of the phenomenon and the lack of
concrete research on the issue. For example, child abuse and sexual
exploitation of children appear to be realities in ECPAT: Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/IRC/articles.asp?articleID=40&NewsID=12 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
WEST
AFRICA - There have also been reports on
the trafficking of children for sexual purposes from Millennium Development Goals in Benin uk.oneworld.net/guides/benin/development At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
HUMAN
RIGHTS - The major
human rights issues noted for UNICEF Briefing on
Trafficking in Children to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus SOUTH
ASIA - Benin's first
village committees were created in August 1999 in the sub-prefectures of Ze, Dogbo and Agbangnizoun in the south of the country - the area most
affected by child trafficking There are now more than 170 committees carrying
out a range of activities, most of which are believed to have an impact on
trafficking. These Committees raise community awareness, report cases of
sexual or other abuse of children by assigning a Committee who keeps a close
count on the number of children in the village. In addition, the Committee
contacts the police immediately when a child is discovered to be missing, and
monitors the re-integration of children who return to their villages. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
"Child Prostitution - |
Human Trafficking in [Benin] [other countries]Street Children in [Benin] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Benin