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

Somalia                                                                                         [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Somalia is located in extreme E Africa [map] directly south of the Arabian peninsula across the Gulf of Aden.  It comprises almost the entire African coast of the Gulf of Aden and a longer stretch on the Indian Ocean.  It is bounded by Djibouti (NW), Ethiopia (W), Kenya (SW), and the Indian Ocean (S & E).  Mogadishu is its capital.  Somalia remains a fragmented country both politically and administratively.  Despite continuing stabilization in the Northwest Zone of Somaliland and limited but encouraging progress in the Northeast Zone of Puntland, humanitarian personnel have faced varied and complex challenges.  In the Central and Southern Zone in particular, insecurity prevailed.  Key development indicators identify the situation in Somalia as one of the worst in the world.

 

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.

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 Backgrounder1

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

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]