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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Lebanon [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Lebanon [map] is located in SW Asia and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea (W), by Syria (N & E), and by Israel (S). Its capital is Beirut. The country requires major reconstruction and rehabilitation, revitalizing key social sectors and stimulating economic growth. This includes plans to rehabilitate water networks and school buildings, improve school programs and rehabilitate the healthcare infrastructure. Lebanese youth below the age of 25 years, who constitute more than half of the population, suffer from weak integration in the social environment.

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National Plan of Action

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - It is common for children to earn family income by working in the fields or begging in the streets. Non-Lebanese children constitute 10 to 20 percent of children working in the formal sector, but make up a larger share of children working on the street. There have been reported cases of child prostitution and other situations that amount to forced labor. Although Lebanon is a destination country for women trafficked from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for the purposes of involuntary domestic servitude and prostitution, there are no official government reports of child trafficking in the country.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004

CHILDREN - NGO's throughout the country reported that child prostitution was a problem. The authorities discovered and broke up three child prostitution rings. In two of the cases, the perpetrators were charged with facilitation, in the third, with child prostitution. At year's end, the cases were pending prosecution.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2002

[58] The Committee is concerned at the insufficient data on and awareness of the phenomenon of sexual exploitation of children in Lebanon.

Child prostitution still taboo, despite laws

"My parents needed money so they sent me to work as a housemaid at the age of 12. Do you know how much I had to put up with in my situation?" Nadine asked rhetorically. “All men want is one thing – your body! So I decided to ask for money in exchange for what I was offering.”

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

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – LEBANON – Various NGOs have contributed not only by raising awareness, but also by implementing policies and projects aiming at assisting abused children, including victims of sexual abuse. The NGO Dar el Amal has discussed the issue of sexual exploitation of children with Save the Children Sweden and Save the Children U.K. They have jointly taken the decision to set up a committee to develop policies to assist abused children. The committee will be composed of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the ILO, UNICEF and Dar el Amal. Additionally Dar el Amal is coordinating various activities with the private and public sectors with the aim of protecting children.

Report by Special Rapporteur [DOC]

[52] Children involved in prostitution are taken into custody by the internal security forces and referred through the Department of Public Prosecutions directly to a juvenile misdemeanors court.  Children are normally given custodial sentences of between three and six months.  Females serve their sentences in Ba’abda women’s prison but have little access to rehabilitation facilities apart from a few activities carried out in association with external organizations.  Male children are imprisoned in a juvenile facility at Rumiyyah prison where they are separated from the men.  Rehabilitation programs including vocational training are run in the juvenile facility.

5.1 Middle East - State of CSEC/ Attitudes toward CSEC [PDF]

While Israel, Jordan and Lebanon indicate a tacit willingness to address the issue, the majority of the countries in the region have not conducted research and deny the possibility that children are being sexually exploited for commercial purposes. Open discussions of sex related issues are regarded as a social taboo thus further explaining the lack of research and acknowledgement of CSEC. While the extent of child prostitution in the Middle East region is unknown, anecdotal evidence indicates that there is a large problem in selected areas of the region.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children - Middle East/North Africa region

These countries also have in common, however, a number of constraints that have hindered preparation of national plans of action. In all the countries of the region, there is cultural resistance to addressing the problem because the subject is largely taboo. Often the issue is dealt with more generally under headings such as ‘violence’ and ‘trauma’. This means that there has been no regional consensus on defining CSEC in law; in some countries, for example, it is looked upon as an indecent act, in others as rape, although in all 20 countries there is some section of the penal code that can be invoked against sexual abuse and exploitation.

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