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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Cameroon [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Cameroon [map] is located in W central Africa and is bordered by the Gulf of Guinea (SW), on the northwest by Nigeria (NW), by Chad (NE), by the Central African Republic (SE), and on the south by Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Yaoundé is its capital, and Douala is the largest city and main port. Cameroon is a country afflicted by pervasive poverty and rising infant and under-five mortality rates. Some 51 per cent of the population live below the poverty line and poverty has an increasingly feminine face, affecting women in particular. An estimated 56 per cent of the population is under 20 years of age.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Cameroon. 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.

National Plan of Action

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - According to a 2004 study by the Institute for Socio-Anthropological Research, children who have been trafficked in Cameroon are forced to work in agriculture, domestic service, sweatshops, bars and restaurants and in prostitution. The Ministry of Social Affairs also reports that children of some large rural families are “loaned” to work as domestic servants, vendors, prostitutes or baby sitters in urban areas in exchange for monetary compensation.

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

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – In May gendarmes in Yaounde dismantled a prostitution ring which used young boys. The boys were lured into the ring by the prospect of being hired by prestigious soccer clubs in a foreign country. Police arrested three of the organization's five members, who were in detention and awaiting trial at year's end; the other two were still in hiding.

Women and children traditionally have faced the greatest risk of trafficking and have been trafficked most often for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Girls were internally trafficked from the Adamawa, North, Far North, and Northwest provinces to Douala and Yaounde to work as domestic servants, street vendors, or prostitutes. According to a study by the International Circle for the Promotion of Creation and the Cameroon Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, of 722 young girls between 9 and 20 years old interviewed in the cities of Yaounde, Douala, Bamenda, and Bafoussam, 291 were the victims of sexual exploitation.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001

[64] The Committee is concerned about the increasing number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution and pornography, especially among those engaged in child labor and street children. Concern is also expressed at the insufficient programs for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children victims of such abuse and exploitation.

Survey: Cameroon tops providers of African sex workers

According to results of this survey conducted in 2004 in the cities of Bafoussam (west), Bamenda (northeast), Douala (littoral) and Yaounde (centre), 40% of children from age 9 up to 20 are victims of child prostitution.

For this edition, the choice has been made on child prostitution to mobilise Cameroonians from the civil society and break the authorities` silence on this phenomenon, which is tarnishing the image of Cameroon worldwide.

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

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – CAMEROON – United Action for Children (UAC) is trying to bring all NGOs together to form a network on CSEC. In the area of prevention, UAC has been holding radio talks on CSEC and other child protection issues like HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy. Promotion de l’Enfant et de L’Environnement (PEE) has also been carrying out sensitization campaigns on CSEC. In January it organized a workshop in Kribi on the rights of the child, with children participating in debates and giving input on the issues affecting them. Finally, in the area of reintegration and rehabilitation, the government is reported to have established four rehabilitation centers for children in extremely difficult circumstances, and UAC offers counseling services to CSEC victims.

Different Realities, Different Therapies

The issue of sexual assault is known around the world. In Cameroon, two jurisdictions (or methods) are considered effective in preventing and repressing sexual abuse: the oral jurisdiction (traditional) and the written jurisdiction (the penal code).

A. THE TRADITIONAL JURISDICTION AND ITS POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE INFLUENCES WITHIN THE CULTURE TOWARD THE PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE - In the name of tradition, the traditional submission of women and the denial of freedom of speech to children have covered up sexual misconduct for a long period of time. The silence assigned to the victims of sexual assault is a prejudice especially felt by children, whom we today recognize as having some rights, such as the right of speech and the right to have an opinion and to expect that this opinion will be respected.

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