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

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

In the first ten years of the 21st Century  -  2000 to 2009

Somalia

Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports.  [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

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

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UNICEF - Somalia - Background

ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN - UNICEF and its partners have created an innovative network of child-protection advocates to aid vulnerable children in more than 75 communities. Action plans have been developed on issues like sexual abuse, female genital mutilation and child prostitution.

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are conscripted by armed Somali militias and used for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Boys as young as 14 or 15 have participated in combat and many belong to gangs who raid indiscriminately. Trafficking networks exist that transport children to South Africa and promote their commercial sexual exploitation.  The Middle East and Europe are also trafficking destinations.

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

CHILDREN - Child prostitution was practiced; however, because it is culturally proscribed and was not reported, there are no statistics on its prevalence.

Backgrounder: Rights of the Child Backgrounder

WHAT IS THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD? - The CRC has been ratified by 192 countries, making it the most universally accepted human rights instrument in history. Only the United States and Somalia have not ratified it.  WHY DO SOME COUNTRIES OPPOSE THE CONVENTION? - Somalia is currently unable to proceed to ratification because it has no recognized government. The political situation in Somalia is too unstable to be able to predict when that country might ratify the CRC.

ECPAT:  CSEC Overview - Somalia

www.ecpat.net/eng/ecpat_inter/Country/CSECOverview/Somalia.html

Young Somalis are forced into commercial sex in Arab countries, sold by impoverished parents into Western Europe, and trafficked into neighboring Djibouti where French and international military presence sustains a large sex industry. Somali children have also become victims of child sex tourism in Kenya following their displacement during the Somali civil war. There is also a growing incidence of CSEC within the country, especially among internally displaced peoples (IDP) whose numbers have grown in the wake of Somalia’s civil strife.

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