Human Trafficking in [Gambia Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Republic
of The Gambia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The The Gambia is a source, transit, and destination country for
children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial
sexual exploitation. Within The Gambia, women and girls are mostly trafficked
for sexual exploitation, in particular to meet the demand for European sex
tourism, and for domestic servitude. Boys are trafficked primarily for forced
street vending and by religious teachers for forced begging. Transnationally,
women, girls, and boys from neighboring countries are trafficked to The
Gambia for the same purposes listed above. Primary source countries are
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and
Benin. Gambian women and girls are trafficked to Senegal for domestic
servitude and possibly for sexual exploitation; Gambian boys are trafficked
to Senegal for forced begging. Women and children may be trafficked to
Europe. Reports during the year of large numbers of Gambian, Senegalese, and
other neighboring country nationals being transported from The Gambia to
Spain by boat appear to be predominantly cases of smuggling rather than
trafficking. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June,
2007 [full
country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** GHANA-GAMBIA: Sex
slave children trafficked by Ghanaian fishermen According to the Gambian National
Intelligence Agency, the girls were smuggled into the country without
official papers to work as sex slaves for their Ghanaian masters. Ceesay confirmed this. She said the girls
were forced to “satisfy the sexual desires of older men” and some were
working full-time as prostitutes within the 5,000-strong Ghanaian community. The Gambian authorities said that
the girls were also made to work long hours smoking fish and selling gari, a
popular Ghanaian staple made from cassava. Some boys smuggled into the Gambia
were made to work as fishermen.
Meanwhile, their masters’ own children went to school and had all
their usual domestic chores, like washing their school uniforms and even
cleaning their shoes, done for them by the trafficked children. The trafficked children told Gambian
officials they had been forbidden to contact their parents at home. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Child trafficking is also a problem. As a transit and destination
country, the Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Most trafficking
victims were forced into prostitution and/or begging; a few became domestic
servants. Trafficking victims mostly came from conflict-ravaged countries,
such as Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [62] In light of the current
economic situation and the increasing number of school drop-outs, the
Committee is concerned about the large number of children engaged in labor
and the lack of information and adequate data on the situation of child labor
and economic exploitation within the State party. The Committee also notes
with concern that there is no legal minimum age for employment in accordance
with ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to
Employment. Grave concern is expressed about the increasing number of child
laborers, including domestic servants. The Protection Project - The Gambia [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Nigerian girls have been lured
to The Gambia with promises of legitimate jobs, but instead the girls end up
working in bars and are forced to provide sexual services to customers. Children are taken from Senegal and Sierra
Leone and are used as domestic servants or sex slaves. Gambia to
Sign Agreement On Child Trafficking The problem of trafficking in children
in The Gambia is underreported and this can be attributed to lack of
awareness of the general public of what trafficking is, how it is done,
mode/type and who are involved. The
first case of child trafficking that was reported to the Department of Social
Welfare was the High human trafficking profits increases practice in Ghana Statistics from the United
Nationa’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that human trafficking was rated
the World’s third most profitable illicit business venture apart from drugs
and prostitution. Subsequently, the
number of children trafficked from Afram Plains in the Eastern, Yeji in the
Brong Ahafo, and Atitekpo in the Volta Regions countries such as The Gambia and Côte d’Ivoire in
particular, for hazardous occupation had increased. Gambia
Makes More Progress in Monitoring Human Trafficking The governement did even better in
opening a shelter in Banjul that can accommodates 48 persons and establish a
hotline. They also established a hotline for reporting trafficking crimes and
information centre for victims. Cracking
down on nine cases of trafficking in persons, the government with Child
Protection Alliance (CPA-an NGO umbrella group) conducted sensitisation
programmes. Human Trafficking, A Serious Crime - Says Dr Henry
Carrol1 http://www.thepoint.gm/National%20Stories769.htm According to Dr Carrol, as far as
the Laws of The Gambia are concerned, there is presently no law on our
Statute Books which prohibits the trafficking of adult persons. He
therefore expressed the urgent need for the Gambia Government to
expeditiously pass the required legislation in the National Assembly, with a
certificate of urgency, to combat this fast growing menace. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide The Gambian child today like many
other children on the African continent is faced with so many difficulties
such that it is very difficult to determine the extent of their predicament.
Gambian children are faced with problems such as child labour, child
trafficking, child exploitation, child sexual abuse to name a few. GHANA-GAMBIA: Sex
slave children trafficked by Ghanaian fishermen According to the Gambian National
Intelligence Agency, the girls were smuggled into the country without
official papers to work as sex slaves for their Ghanaian masters. Ceesay confirmed this. She said the girls
were forced to “satisfy the sexual desires of older men” and some were
working full-time as prostitutes within the 5,000-strong Ghanaian community. The Gambian authorities said that
the girls were also made to work long hours smoking fish and selling gari, a
popular Ghanaian staple made from cassava. Some boys smuggled into the Gambia
were made to work as fishermen.
Meanwhile, their masters’ own children went to school and had all
their usual domestic chores, like washing their school uniforms and even
cleaning their shoes, done for them by the trafficked children. The trafficked children told Gambian
officials they had been forbidden to contact their parents at home. Report
For The WTO General Council Review Of The Trade Policies Of Gambia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Gambia has ratified the
Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labour and the Convention on Forced
Labour. Forced labour exists such as forced prostitution (trafficking of
women and girls) and forced domestic labour by trafficked girls. 1. The linked
article has been taken down, moved, or restricted All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Gambia Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia] [other countries]