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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Haiti [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Haiti [map] is located in the West Indies, on the western third of the island of Hispaniola. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (N), by the Caribbean Sea (S), and by the Dominican Republic (E). Jamaica lies to the west and Cuba to the northwest. The offshore islands of Tortuga and Gonâve also belong to Haiti. Its capital and largest city is Port-au-Prince. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. In the context of extreme economic and political instability, the vulnerability of children and women rose significantly.

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

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Haiti), and Years Missing

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - An estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Haitian children are trafficked annually to the Dominican Republic. According to UNICEF, the civil unrest in 2004 has resulted in an increased number of children trafficked to the Dominican Republic to work as beggars or prostitutes. Estimates on the number of street children in Haiti vary from 5,000 to 10,000, according to studies by UNICEF and Save the Children/Canada, respectively. There are reported incidents of commercial sexual exploitation of children.

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

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [d] According to the NGO Haitian Coalition for the Defense of the Rights of the Child, children worked primarily as restaveks; however, some worked on the street as vendors or beggars, and some were involved in prostitution.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child - 2003

[42] The Committee is concerned at the high incidence of violence against and abuse of children within the family environment, including sexual abuse and neglect of children, and that insufficient efforts have been made to protect children. The Committee is particularly concerned at the very high rate of sexual abuse of girls (more than one third of women were sexually abused before the age of 15 years). In addition, the Committee is concerned at the lack of statistical data and a comprehensive plan of action, and the insufficient infrastructures.

[65] The Committee notes that the State party has signed but not ratified the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

32nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 2003 Report [RTF]

II. COUNTRY REVIEWS - [3] HAITI (27 JANUARY 2003) - The economic and political situation in Haiti is extremely serious. There has been no Parliament for several years and therefore laws cannot be adopted. The lack of government funds is such that concrete measures cannot be taken. The gaps between the very undeveloped rural areas and the less undeveloped areas of urban centers are widening. Children from poverty stricken families are given to richer families where they serve in some cases as mere domestic and in some cases, as sexual slaves ("restavek system").

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

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – HAITI – It has been reported that child sex tourism continues to be a problem in Port au Prince with boys being the main victims of American and European ‘clients’. Street children are also sexually exploited by members of the Haitian elite.

30,000 Haitian children smuggled annually

Around 30,000 Haitian children are illegally smuggled into the Dominican Republic every year to work as child prostitutes or be forced into other degrading occupations, UN and Organization of American States (OAS) officials said on Sunday. In Haiti itself, children are recruited as gang members or are tortured, kidnapped, sexually and physically abused, abandoned and traded like personal property.

Relationship Between Child Domestic Servitude & The Sexual Exploitation Of Children

LINKS BETWEEN CHILD DOMESTIC WORK AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION - In Haiti, restavèk girls are sometimes called "la pou sa", a Creole term meaning "there for that". They are accepted sexual outlets for the men or boys of the household.

The Human Security Bulletin - Conflict Profile

[5] ANALYSIS - A Human Rights Report on Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children by the Protection Project of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies notes that Haiti has high rates of child prostitution and AIDS and that some 300,000 children work as household servants.

#666: restavek : Russell comments

The video focused on child prostitution and the growth of AIDS in this population, but the links between how restaveks are treated, why they run away from their "adopted families", why they end up on the streets, why they take on prostitution, and why they catch AIDS is clear. And very, very sad.

All material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use

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