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

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Togolese Republic (Togo) [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Togolese Republic is located in W Africa [map] and is bordered by the Gulf of Guinea (S), Ghana (W), Burkina Faso (N), and Benin (E). Lomé is its capital and largest city. Togo’s socio-political crisis in the early 1990s resulted in the suspension of nearly all foreign assistance. This had a forceful impact on the social sectors. Currently 39% of the school-age girls in the country are not enrolled or have dropped out of school, and the disparities in education are reflected in the very high gender gap that stands at 24%. . Of those girls who drop out of primary school, many end up as domestic workers or become the victims of child trafficking.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Togo. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

UNICEF - The Big Picture

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

CHILDREN - The government provided education in state schools, and school attendance is compulsory for both boys and girls until the age of 15. According to a September UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, approximately 79 percent of children aged 5 to 11, mostly boys, attended school. In that age group, approximately 83 percent of boys and 74 percent of girls started primary school, but only an estimated 51 percent of boys and 22 percent of girls reached secondary school.

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – Boys were trafficked for agricultural work in Cote d'Ivoire and domestic servitude and street labor in Gabon. They were fed poorly, clothed crudely, cared for inadequately, given drugs to work longer hours, and not educated or permitted to learn a trade.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005

[63] The Committee welcomes the ratification by the State party party’s ratification of ILO Conventions No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment in 1984 and No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in 1984 and 2000 respectively and the strategies implemented to prevent and combat child labor. Nevertheless, it remains concerned at the high large number of children working in the informal sector, in factories, as domestic servants, and on the streets.

[66] The Committee welcomes the adoption on 18 March 1998 of Act No. 98/008 on drugs control of 18 March 1998,and the setting up in 1996 of the National Anti‑Drug Committee (CNAD) and in 2000 of the National Anti‑Drugs Plan. However, the Committee remains concerned by about the high large number of children, in particular street children, using and selling drugs.

[68] The Committee is concerned by at the high large number of children living and working on the streets, and by at the vulnerability of these children to various forms of violence, including sexual abuse and economic exploitation, economic exploitation, and at the lack of a systematic and comprehensive strategy to address the situation and protect these children, and at the very poor registration and tracing of missing children by the police.

Information about Street Children - Togo [DOC]

Estimates range from as few as 500 to as many as 3,000 in the capital Lome alone. Even less is known about the proportion of girls within this population, as they are far less visible than boys. It is not uncommon to see children 7-years-old in the streets, and most of the children report living there for periods of at least 3 years, usually more.

Child Trafficking in Togo: A Way Out

Sometimes, children are left to the lender as a pawn for a borrowed sum.  Immediately, these children are taken away from the parents, their problems start.  They face problems of physical abuse, sexual abuse, child labor, and are generally neglected.  Most of them lose contact with their parents and relations and when they could not contain the exploitation, they run away to the street and become street children.

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