Human Trafficking in [Jamaica] [other countries]Street Children in [Jamaica] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jamaica |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children Jamaica [ Country-by-Country
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Child Prostitution Widespread in Jamaica Children, Some As Young As 10 And 11 Years Old, Are Engaged In Prostitution. Study listed nine categories of children engaging in sex for gain and said they were pushed basically by lack of economic support, love and affection. The first of the nine categories listed was children living and working on the streets, mostly boys between ages 12 and 18 Reasons for child prostitution Children are now seen as bread winners for some families, as the parents realise that people are more responsive to a child's cry for help. As a result of this, parents send their children, especially females, to hustle for the family by engaging them in sexual activities with older men, while subjecting them to both physical and mental abuse which will later have a greater psychological effect on them in life. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A 2001 study funded by ILO-IPEC found that children as young as 10
years old are sexually exploited and engaged in prostitution, catering to
tourists. Young girls are hired by “go-go” clubs or massage parlors. Children
are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation and pornography. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS - The
Child Care and Protection Act passed in 2004 specifically prohibits the sale
or trafficking of minors and provides that violators receive the maximum
penalty under the law. This law subjects convicted traffickers to a fine or
imprisonment with hard labor for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both. It
also provides that no person under the age of 18 years may be employed in a
night club. Although authorities raided some night clubs, police tended to
arrest victims of trafficking rather than owners of the clubs. There were few
if any convictions under this law. Authorities reported that very few
children had been found to be trafficking victims. The International Labor
Organization (ILO) estimated that several hundred minors were involved in the
country's sex trade. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2003 [54] The Committee is concerned at
the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, including street
children, and the lack of accurate data and adequate laws and policies in
this regard. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights [13] The Committee is deeply
concerned about the lack of laws, policies or programs to address explicitly
the proliferation of sex tourism and its consequences, which include the
sexual exploitation and prostitution of women and children, and the spread of
sexually transmitted diseases. In particular, the Committee is alarmed that
school drop-out rates have increased as young girls are induced to leave
school to enter the sex trade, sometimes even with the consent and
encouragement of parents who benefit from their earnings. JAMAICA - Male and female sex workers
operating in tourist areas are known as “beach boys” and “beach girls.”
Working on the beach, they make private contacts with tourists. Additionally,
there are reports of van operators who take passengers to safe houses for sex
with boys and girls. Some girls are sent out to the beach by their parents to
wait for men. In general, clients are mostly Westerners, but local men are
also involved. Boy prostitution, described as “rent-a-dread,” also occurs. Companies
involved in human trafficking "If you had asked me three or
four years ago, I would tell you that, 'Look, these things don't happen in
Jamaica'," he said. "But, believe me, it happens." The Justice Minister said that since the
task force was set up by former Prime Minister P.J.
Patterson in 2005, many cases of human trafficking have been unearthed. Many
involve children. EXPLOITING THE YOUNG - Using the sensational 'sale' of
a teenage girl by her parents to a man in St. Elizabeth as an example, Mr.
Nicholson said the exploitation of young boys and girls in Jamaica was
widespread. He warned that, under the law, not only persons who know of the
deed can be jailed. Reasons
for child prostitution Children are now seen as bread
winners for some families, as the parents realise
that people are more responsive to a child's cry for help. As a result of this, parents send
their children, especially females, to hustle for the family by engaging them
in sexual activities with older men, while subjecting them to both physical
and mental abuse which will later have a greater psychological effect on them
in life. Transactional sex in a rich variety
of prostitutional commercial exchange, from the onset of puberty, is a
dominant feature of Jamaican culture. ECPAT:
Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – UNICEF Jamaica Lauds Steps
To Establish Post Of Children's Advocate In The Island The United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) Child Prostitution Widespread in Jamaica Children, Some As Young As 10 And
11 Years Old, Are Engaged In Prostitution. Study listed nine categories of children engaging in sex for gain and said they were pushed basically by lack of economic support, love and affection. The first of the nine categories listed was children living and working on the streets, mostly boys between ages 12 and 18 Violence Against
Children in Jamaica, W.I. A Cross Cultural Qualitative Study Within the last decade 22,000
youth were labeled "street children" who lived and worked in the
streets doing jobs such as machinery, welding, domestic work, care giving and newspaper delivery. Many turn to or are
forced into child prostitution and/or the drug trade in order to survive. What is not known is that there
are COMMERCIAL SEX WORKERS - Street and working children are a particularly vulnerable group to prostitution. These children lack family and social support. (Dunn, 2001) posits that small boys between the ages of 6 and 17 years were most exploited. They did not have the protection of adult family members or institutional environment for support and as such were exposed to extreme economic deprivation and abuse. Those involved in sexual activity were between 12 and 18 years. The majorities were from very poor backgrounds and were out of school; although a few attended school regularly Dunn, (2001). The Children Of Jamaica's Sex Trade "In All material used herein
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Human Trafficking in [Jamaica] [other countries]Street Children in [Jamaica] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jamaica