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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Niger [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Niger is located in W Africa [map] and is bordered by Burkina Faso and Mali (W), by Algeria and Libya (N), by Chad (E), and by Nigeria and Benin (S). Niamey is the country's capital and its largest city. Sixty-three per cent of the population lives below the absolute poverty level, with women making up two-thirds of this figure. The situation of women and children is characterized by women’s high fertility rate, a wide gap between men and women in terms of health, education and literacy and high maternal mortality.

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

UNICEF - The Big Picture

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children also shine shoes; guard cars; work as apprentices for artisans, tailors, and mechanics; perform domestic work; and work as porters and street beggars. Children work under hazardous conditions in small trona, salt, gypsum, and gold mines and quarries; prostitution; and drug trafficking; as well as in slaughterhouses. Niger serves as a source and transit country for children trafficked into for domestic service and commercial labor, including commercial sexual exploitation. Some Koranic teachers indenture young boys and send them to beg in the streets. Forced domestic service and commercial sexual exploitation of girls is a problem in Niger

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

A survey conducted by a local NGO during the year found that 5.8 percent of households interviewed claimed that at least one member of their household had been a victim of trafficking. Internal trafficking of young boys for labor and young girls for work as maids and in some cases for prostitution from rural to urban areas occurred. There were credible reports of underage girls being drawn into prostitution, sometimes with the complicity of the family. There also were reports that child prostitution was especially prevalent along the main East‑West highway, particularly between the towns of Birni N'konni and Zinder. Child prostitution is not criminalized specifically, and there was no precise age of consent; however, the law prohibits "indecent" acts toward minors. It was left to a judge to determine what constituted an indecent act. Such activity and a corollary statute against "the incitement of minors to wrongdoing" were punishable by three to five years in prison.

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

[68] The Committee is concerned at the increasing number of child victims of 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.

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

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – NIGER – Initial information provided by CARITAS Niger suggests that CSEC is growing in the country with victims aged between 9 and 15. The fear of HIV/AIDS means that younger girls are being exploited because of the perception that they are sexually pure.

ECPAT: CSEC Country Report

Child prostitution is a growing problem in Niger. Poverty is the primary motivating factor, but the desire for luxury goods and the opportunity to travel abroad are also factors. Procurers are usually older prostitutes while clients are mostly tourists and wealthy businessmen. The prostitution of boys is another emerging phenomenon in the country, involving in most cases street children and children in conflict with the law. Reports have indicated that boys as young as 12 were involved in this form of exploitation.

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