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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Republic of Senegal [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Senegal is located in W Africa [map] and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (W), by Mauritania (N), by Mali (E), and by Guinea and Guinea-Bissau (S). Its capital and largest city is Dakar. The Republic of The Gambia is an enclave (SW). Infant mortality and maternal mortality levels are moderate in Senegal and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is among the lowest in the region. However, immunization coverage has been declining in recent years and progress in education has been slow with only 75% of the children enrolled in primary school.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Senegal. 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 - There are reports of Gambian girls working in the Senegalese sex industry. Senegalese girls are reported to work in Gambia in conditions of sexual exploitation, and some who go for domestic service become vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.

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

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - During the year the government arrested, prosecuted, and convicted traffickers. During the year there were prosecutions for rape, pedophilia, prostitution, and abuse of talibé children; however, there was no system to regularly collect statistics on cases. The human rights commissioner and the family ministry were the government's coordinators on human trafficking issues.

Young girls from both urban and rural areas were involved in prostitution, which NGOs claimed involved an adult pimp to facilitate commercial sex transactions or provide shelter.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2006 [DOC]

[64] The Committee welcomes the efforts made to sensitize and protect children against sexual exploitation. However, the Committee is concerned at the lack of:

(a) Data on sexual exploitation, including sex tourism and trafficking in children to the State party;

(b) Protection and/or recovery assistance for children victims of sexual exploitation;

(c) Legislation to protect children from sexual exploitation including sex tourism; and

(d) Implementation of existing legislation e.g. the rule prohibiting sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 12 (Penal Code, art. 300).

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

www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – SENEGAL – CSEC is now recognized as a problem in Senegal and the phenomenon is on the increase. Incidents of pedophilia are on the increase and there are frequent reports of it in the local press. According to DCI Senegal, over 400,000 children in Senegal are living under extremely difficult circumstances. Over 50% of them are engaged in dangerous activities like begging and hawking and are very vulnerable to CSEC. Some parents encourage their children into begging and prostitution. According to UNICEF, sex tourism has also emerged as a problem.

ECPAT: CSEC in West Africa

SEX TOURISM - Senegal is a major tourist destination with seven to eight months of peak tourist season. According to UNICEF Senegal, sex tourism has emerged as a new phenomenon. Boy prostitution is said to be on the increase, and children of both sexes harass tourists in the bid to lure clients.

ECPAT: Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes

WEST AFRICA - In Senegal, girls from the Southern Cassamance region, where a guerrilla war is going on, go to work as domestics in neighboring Gambia where they are very vulnerable to CSEC. There is also a huge in-country trafficking from rural to urban cities in the region. These children are trafficked to serve as domestics but end up trapped in the circle of prostitution. Some are trafficked mainly for prostitution in the urban areas.

UNICEF: Study On The Sexual Abuse And Exploitation Of Children In The Gambia [DOC]

CHAPTER 2 - There is nearly universal agreement among varied informants that children engaged in prostitution around the Senegambia Tourist Area near Banjul are predominantly underage, many as young as 12 and that 60% to 70% of tourists come here for the sun, relaxation and cheap sex.

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