Human Trafficking in [Ghana Street Children in [Ghana] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Ghana] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the
first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
Ghana is a source,
transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the
purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking
within the country is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the
majority of victims are children. Both boys and girls are trafficked within
Ghana for forced labor in agriculture and the fishing industry, for street
hawking, forced begging by religious instructors, as porters, and possibly
for forced kente weaving. Over 30,000 children are
believed to be working as porters, or Kayaye,
in Accra alone. Annually, the IOM reports numerous deaths of boys trafficked
for hazardous forced labor in the Lake Volta fishing industry. Girls are
trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation.
To a lesser extent, boys are also trafficked internally for sexual
exploitation, primarily for sex tourism. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** The
Protection Project - Ghana [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Children from Preventing
Child Trafficking in Ghana's Fishing Communities www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/a-13-2007-08-22-voa5.html www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-08/2007-08-22-voa5.cfm?CFID=267636223&CFTOKEN=43910863 The International Organization for
Migration (IOM) says child trafficking is rampant in fishing communities
along “They are not being held against
their will, but as a child they have no consent. What happens is that some of
these children have uncles or relatives who come to these poor parents in
fishing area, in the village to take them to go and stay with. When they go
there, they in turn give the children to fishermen and collect some money
from the fisherman, and the children go and work for the fisherman instead of
going to school,” Peasah said. Juliana
Dogbadzi - Sex Slavery Juliana Dogbadzi,
enslaved in a shrine in her native ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S. Dept
of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are reports of children being given away, leased, or sold by
their parents to work in various sectors.
Children were also reportedly sold into involuntary servitude for
either labor or sexual exploitation. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – From
January to May there were 105 cases of child abduction and 131 cases of child
stealing, according to the DOVVISU. On September 4, the Immigration Service
reported its largest interception of traffickers to date when Kulungugu border officials arrested a woman for
attempting to traffic 17 children, ages 5 to 17, to Trafficking was both internal and
international, with the majority of trafficking in the country involving
children from impoverished rural backgrounds. The most common forms of
internal trafficking involved boys from the Northern Region going to work in
the fishing communities along the Children between the ages of 7 and
17 also were trafficked to and from the neighboring countries of Much of the recruitment of
children was done with the consent of the parents, who sometimes were given
an advance payment or promised regular stipends from the recruiter and were
told the children would receive food, shelter, and often some sort of
training or education. Some parents sent their children to work for extended
family members in urban areas. Treatment of children sent to work in
relatives' homes varied. Many children were given to professional recruiters,
usually women, who placed the children with employers in cities. A child in
these circumstances usually was paid between $2.20 and $3.30 (20 thousand to
30 thousand cedis) per month. In many cases, the
children never received the education or vocational training the recruiters
promised. Girls could be forced into prostitution and were sometimes sexually
abused by their employers. Women also were trafficked to
Western Europe, mostly to Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 1997 [18] The Committee further notes
with concern the inadequacy of existing laws in protecting children who are
"adopted" - a situation which has led to abuses such as
exploitation through domestic labor, particularly of girls. Three
Chinese jailed for human trafficking www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=164179 Summing up its judgment, the court
noted that the prosecution had been able to prove its case beyond reasonable
doubt. It held that James and Sam engaged in human trafficking by obtaining
tickets and other travelling documents for the
victims and through deceits, lured them to According to the court the victims
on their arrival had their passports and other travelling
documents confiscated by James who in turn threatened, deceived and exploited
their vulnerability. According to the court proceeds of the sex trade were
used to purchase contraceptives, douches and other materials to facilitate
their trade. It dismissed claims by the convicts that the victims and other
Chinese nationals meet at the restaurants to sing. "During the singing
that was when the men selected the victims for sex," the court noted. It therefore concluded that the
convicts through their intentions induced the victims into sex trade and
declined to give them their travelling documents as
well as proceed from the sex trade. Human
trafficking: The faces and sorrow at the heart of a UN report www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29907&Cr=&Cr1= And Kwame’s
young life embraced a dream when his parents were told he would join a sales
business. Instead, he was trafficked to the infamous fishing region around After eight years of backbreaking labour and heartbreaking abuse, Kwame
was freed by an anti-slavery group in The
Growing Menace Of Child Trafficking The latest report that 390 child
slaves are locked up at Krachi in the Volta Region,
published in this paper yesterday, is indeed disturbing, if not
disconcerting. According to our
correspondent, these children are under bondage, labouring
for fishermen on five islands in the vicinity of Kete
Krachi in the They have lost all their rights
and freedoms for which reason their survival and development are severely jeopardised. Human
trafficking is a national disgrace www.antitraf.net/home.php?mode=more&id=18&lang=en www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/editorial_detail.php?newsid=402§ion=0 In Ghana
Police set up anti-human trafficking Unit On the welfare of the 17 rescued
girls, ACP Yeboah said that he had liaised-with the
Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs to find a temporary shelter to
accommodate them until further notice. Committee on child labour,
trafficking inaugurated CAUTION: This link may possibly pose a threat to
your PC - www.kessbenfm.com/news_read.php?nid=798 A 21-member steering committee for
an International Labour Organisation
(ILO) project on combating child labour and
trafficking was inaugurated in Dr. Slyvester
Sakyiamah, Executive Director of the Social
Research Associates, said the Kumasi Metropolis had
become the destination for most of the children trafficked from the Upper
West, Upper East, Northern regions and other parts the country. He said the
children were found to be cart pushers, bar-keepers, head porters, hawkers
and domestic servants among other exploitative jobs. Dr. Sakyiamah
said due to the nature of the work they engaged in, the lack of shelter and
better conditions of life, some of them become street children, who were
easily lured into robbery, drug peddling, child prostitution resulting in
socio-economic problems. Preventing
Child Trafficking in Ghana's Fishing Communities www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/a-13-2007-08-22-voa5.html www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-08/2007-08-22-voa5.cfm?CFID=267636223&CFTOKEN=43910863 The International Organization for
Migration (IOM) says child trafficking is rampant in fishing communities
along “They are not being held against
their will, but as a child they have no consent. What happens is that some of
these children have uncles or relatives who come to these poor parents in
fishing area, in the village to take them to go and stay with. When they go
there, they in turn give the children to fishermen and collect some money
from the fisherman, and the children go and work for the fisherman instead of
going to school,” Peasah said. Brave policewoman rewarded www.myjoyonline.com/news/200707/6399.asp At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The report said in December 2005,
one Razak Mohammed asked his wife, Joyce Kruwaa, to allow his stepson, Kwadwo
Kwafo, aged nine, to accompany him to visit his
parents at Kintampo in the Brong
Ahafo Region.
She gave her consent because that had been the usual practice whereby
every December, Mohammed went to his parents for items for the Christmas
celebration. The report said this time
around, instead of going to Kintampo, Mohammed took
the boy to Man jailed 30 years for human trafficking www.myjoyonline.com/news/200706/6198.asp At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The audience in
the courtroom were stunned when Abebrese,
resident of Brepro Nkwanta
near Bawdie in the Wassa Amenfi East District of the Western Region admitted to attempting
to sell one Joseph Narh, a carpenter of the same
village for ritual purpose. But, Inspector Adzadza
said on June 19, 2007, the complainant received a call from Tekpey who informed him (the complainant) that he lied
when he said he wanted him to assist him secure a kiosk, rather he wanted him
(the complainant) to assist him sell one Narh in
the Sewfi area where a human head could be
exchanged for a KIA vehicle. Trafficking
of African women is thriving www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3016&art_id=nw20070510150022241C437730 In January Italian police smashed
several human trafficking rings involving African and eastern European
females and netted some 800 suspects. Outside Human
Trafficking Act is too broad - Lawyer news.myjoyonline.com/news/200703/2457.asp www.modernghana.com/news/125386/1/Human-Trafficking-Act-is-too-broad---Lawyer A lawyer has described the Human Trafficking
Act, 2005, as "too broad" and as such raises a number of concerns
that need to be addressed to ensure its effective enforcement. He said, for instance, the meaning of
trafficking in the Act has been so defined as to make it ambiguous to determine
what is meant by "force", "deception", "harbouring" or "exploitation of
vulnerability." Qatar recruitment is human trafficking - says Legal Centre www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=2619§ion=1 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
After the arrival of the first batch
of Ghanaians to the oil-rich Qatar three months ago, several disgruntled
workers complained of conditions there, resulting in a Government
fact-finding mission to investigate the allegations. Workers claimed that housing and food was
poor, that they had not been paid and that their passports had been taken
from them by their employers. High
human trafficking profits increases practice in Ghana www.modernghana.com/news/124311/1/high-human-trafficking-profits-increases-practice-.html www.modernghana.com/news/124311/1/High-human-trafficking-profits-increases-practice-in-Ghana High profits from human
trafficking, rated the world’s third illicit
business has led to increased number of children being trafficked and
transported from Fighting human trafficking: www.jhr.ca/fieldnotes/view.php?aid=234 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
However, in this era of civilisation and development, Ghanaian children, through
no fault of their own, are still being given out or sold to people, being
deprived of their rights to enjoy life to the fullest. People give out their children to
these fishermen in return for monthly, quarterly or annual compensation. Media
urged to sensitize people on child trafficking Mrs Hagan said the estimated
population of children between 5 years and 17 years in Mrs Sylvia Hinson-Ekong,
Executive Director of Rescue Foundation Media
urged to educate public on human trafficking According to her most parents
ignorantly gave their children out to persons forgetting about the dangers
that they could go through. She said the enactment of the law on human
trafficking was in the right direction but called for more collaboration
between security agencies in combating it. WEST
AFRICA: Children in danger: War on trafficking Rejoice says she was 10 years old when
she was sold and taken from her home to an unfamiliar fishing village on the
banks of For the next seven years Rejoice
washed, scrubbed, cooked and cleaned alongside two other girls bought by Human
Trafficking Law, Act 694 explained www.accra-mail.com/mailnews.asp?id=16607 Mrs. Sweetie Sowah,
Western Regional Director of the Legal Aid Board, has said parents who offer
their child for trafficking commit an offence under the Human Trafficking
Law, Act 694. She was speaking at a community
puppetry sensitisation programme
on the Human Trafficking Law organised by the
Department of Children at Sekondi. Workshop
On Child Trafficking Ends In Bawku The Bawku
Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Abdul-Rahman Gumah, has called for effective networking between the
security services and community opinion leaders to address the high incidence
of child trafficking in the Municipality and to step up surveillance on child
smugglers in the area. Let's
Take a Collective Stance Against Child Trafficking This article may possibly still be
accessible [here]
although registration may be required According to the report, the
country was a source and a destination country for trafficked persons in
2004. WAJU reported that there were
190 cases of abduction and 19 cases of child stealing during the year. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil
Liberties: 2 Status: Free U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study 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 Vocational
Center for Freed Slave Girls in Ghana SUMMARY - Girls, freed from slavery, are
gaining valuable skills by attending a vocational center that was built with
help from GlobalGiving donors. Worst Forms of
Child Labor / Modern Child Slavery WHERE SLAVERY EXISTS TODAY - Industries in which child
slaves are used exist in all parts of the world. Children are enslaved in the
cotton fields of India, fishing
industry in Ghana, charcoal production in Brazil, gold mines in Peru,
brick producing kilns of Nepal, stone quarries in south Asia, as camel
jockeys in the United Arab Emirates, and as domestic servants and sex slaves
all over the world, including in the United States and other developed
countries. Because they are more easily manipulated, children are typically
given work in the most unhealthy and dangerous conditions. The
Protection Project - Ghana [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Children from Children
engaged in hazardous labour A National Child Labour Survey by the Ghana Statistical Service indicated
that out of the over six million children in GHANA: Trafficked
children registered "We met on a one-to-one basis
with 96 of the 136 fishermen who are known to employ underaged
labour in Brong Ahafo region," Ernest Taylor of IOM Ghana said.
"All of them promised to free the children. We told them that in
exchange they would receive training and modern fishing equipment, so they
won't have to employ children in future." "We will continue to register all
cases of trafficked children in the region. We will then start tracing
families with the help of the traditional leaders and the fishermen. Once the
families have been identified, we will contact them and provide enough help
to ensure that the return of the children is sustainable," U.S.
Labor Secretary Visits with Victims of Child Trafficking in Ghana During Secretary Chao's visit, she met with nearly 50 children who have
been victims of trafficking. In addition to children from Kokrobite,
Secretary Chao also visited with students from five
schools in nearby villages. The children were trafficked hours away from
their home to the The
Tragedy of Female Slavery in Ghana According to the American
Anti-Slavery Group, until the 18th century the offering typically took the
form of livestock or other gifts, but that began to change and priests began
demanding, and receiving, virgin girls as atonement for the sins of their
relatives. Girls, often under the age
of 10, are brought to the priest, ritually stripped of all their possessions,
including clothes, and told they have to do anything the priest tells them.
Most girls are raped repeatedly. Juliana
Dogbadzi - Sex Slavery Juliana Dogbadzi, enslaved in a
shrine in her native All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking
& Modern-day Slavery - |
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Human Trafficking in [Ghana Street Children in [Ghana] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Ghana] [other countries]