Human Trafficking in [Gambia] [other countries]Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children Republic of The Gambia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The |
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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in The Gambia. 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. U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - According to UNICEF, commercial sexual exploitation of children is
on the rise. The problem is most acute in the sex tourism industry,
where young children, especially girls, are coerced by Gambian adults
offering gifts and promises of a better or “more Western” life style. Child trafficking is also a problem. As a
transit and destination country, the Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – In
January 2004 a joint UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)-government study reported
that children engaged in prostitution in the main tourist resort areas were
predominantly underage, some as young as 12. The report stated that the
country has become an attraction for suspected or convicted European
pedophiles that entered the country as tourists and committed their crimes
against children with impunity. Victims of trafficking were children of both
sexes, normally younger than 16 to 18 years old, and included both citizens
and immigrants or refugees from Some child prostitution victims
stated they worked to support their families, or because they were orphans
and their guardian/procurer supported them. The guardian/procurer often
assumed the role of the "African uncle," allowing the children to
live in his compound with their younger siblings or paying school fees on
their behalf in return for their servitude Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [64] The Committee is concerned
about the large and increasing number of child victims of commercial sexual
exploitation, including for prostitution and pornography, especially among
child laborers and street children. Concern is also expressed at the insufficient
programs for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration
of child victims of such abuse and exploitation. Koranic
schools in Senegal fuel child trafficking Until recently most countries in
West Africa did not have laws to penalize rape or child trafficking, although
the situation was improving, Legrand said. But as
one government cracked down on abuse, the problem moved to another country. A
recent drive against child prostitution in Gambia had driven sex tourism to
other parts of the region, such as Togo, ECPAT:
Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – THE GAMBIA– CSEC and especially sex tourism is a problem in the Report by Special Rapporteur [DOC] [42] The age of criminal liability
is 7. A child under 12 may be criminally liable for involvement in
prostitution or pornography if it can be proven that he or she had knowledge
to understand the act of commission or omission. Research on
sexual exploitation of children is under way and preparations are being made
to harmonize domestic laws with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to
enact a Children’s Code and to establish a National Commission on
Children. The necessary laws will be in place in
2003. Childcare units have been established at the Departments of
Social Welfare and the Police, and a Child Protection Alliance, which
includes government departments, United Nations agencies, local and
international NGOs and other organizations, has developed a National Plan of
Action on Child Protection. A Child Rights Unit has been established at the
Attorney-General’s Chambers. Child Sex Tourism And
Exploitation Increasing In The Gambia It reveals the strong existence of
a false “glamorization” of prostitution, particularly in sex tourism. “Many
children engaged in prostitution spoke of their envy of girls involved in prostitution
– their clothes, style and hanging out at nightclubs.” For many, according to
the report, being a sex worker “means having access to a lot of cash to buy
jeans, shoes, to go to beauty salons for hair and nail care to show off at
beach parties and nightclubs.” Although sex tourism is the more
sensational face of the sexual exploitation of children in The Gambia, “sugar
daddies” perhaps represent its more pervasive face. This involves sexual
abuse and exploitation of young girls by adult Gambian men in exchange for
money and gifts, and includes, according to the report, family members,
teachers and other trusted adults. GAMBIA: Rising
poverty breeds sexual exploitation of children by Sugar Daddies The sexual abuse of children in
the Gambia is increasing as a result of rising poverty in the small West
African country and Gambian men rather than European tourists are mainly
responsible for the phenomenon, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
said in new report published this week.
Gambia has long been linked with sex tourism, but the UNICEF study,
published on Wednesday, found that the main abusers of local children were
male Gambian "Sugar Daddies." “There is a certain tolerance in
wider society that this is going on,” Faye told IRIN. She said one of the
strongest indications that a traditional taboo on such behaviour
is being lifted is the new aggressive pursuit of Sugar Daddies by the
children themselves. Community
attitudes towards sexual exploitation
of children In some instance, adults did say
that children must play a role in their own protection-primary by listening to
and following the advice of their parents and other elders. As some of the
children’s groups observed, many adults agreed that parents can only do so
much to protect their children. Even if their needs are taken care of, they
can still engage in behaviour that is detrimental
to their well being, such as sexual relations with sugar daddies. Most
children engaged in prostitution did in fact say that their parents had no
idea of what they did for a living and they could easily hide their income
from them. Thus, the prevailing idea that parents collude with and support
their children’s exploitation could be a partial exaggeration, perhaps a
convenient form of denial that one’s own children could become a victim.
Adult prostitutes generally blamed themselves and the men who exploited them
for their predicament. The idea that, as children, parents and authorities
should have protected them seemed native to most of them and a denial of
their own agency and ability to make a rational decision. Europeans
Involved In Gambian Child Sex Tourism One of the typical ways of
contacting the children is establishing a relation to a poor family by
"offering financial help for buying food and then offering school
sponsorship to children. The The Protection Project - The Gambia [DOC] FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE - An increase in government legal responses in countries such as
Thailand has redirected the flow of European pedophiles to places such as The
Gambia. A quarter of the Gambian
population lives on tourism, and this fact, combined with the fact that
Gambia is a cheap destination, has drawn pedophiles and other sex tourists. FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - The Department of Social Welfare
launched a UNICEF-funded study on sexual abuse and exploitation of children
in The Gambia in May 2004. The report concluded that Gambian children face
exploitation in the form of sex tourism as well as child pornography and
trafficking associated with the tourism industry and that most children
involved in prostitution are encouraged to do so by their parents in order to
supplement family income. Moreover, it
is common for girls as young as 13 or 14 years of age to get married; in
addition, young girls will engage in sexual relations with older men in
exchange for gifts, a practice known as the “Sugar Daddy Syndrome.” Another common traditional practice, known
as the “Almudu Syndrome,” involves sending
children, usually teenagers, to study Islam and the Qur’an
with a knowledgeable adult. In return for their education, the children work
for their teachers; however, in some cases children do not receive their
promised education and are exploited by their teachers, even becoming sex
slaves. Gambian Child-Sex Tourism Case
Rolled Up A Norwegian teacher has been
charged with sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy in The Gambia. The case is rolled up by Norwegian police
in A Scot Due Today To Face Charges A Scot due today to face charges
of raping a ten-year-old girl in European paedophiles flock to Gambian 'Smiling Coast' So the youth of the Gambia - 50 per cent of the population is under 18 - look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays when the planes from Gatwick disgorge holidaymakers on the 'Smiling Coast'. The child prostitutes do not 'consider themselves as children and do not understand that they require special protection because of their age. In All material used herein
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Human Trafficking in [Gambia] [other countries]Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia