Introduction
Child prostitution is considered a curse that affects every continent globally with the situation increasing every year all over the world. There are over three million children who become victims of child prostitution each year globally. Factors such as gender discrimination and inequality, poverty, child trafficking and immigration and child labor contribute to the high level of child prostitution as a form of juvenile delinquency. Gender discrimination has contributed to over 98% of child prostitution being girls and in every 6 out of 10 victims must have been due to trafficking. The vice of child prostitution violates the rights of the children and it is highly prevalent in streets, massage parlors, and brothels among other establishments. The high level of child prostitution is also connected to consequences such as the spread of HIV, low access to services, physical and psychological effects. Therefore, there is the need to tighten prosecution policies, promote equality, improve law enforcement and increased research to combat child prostitution.
Global Perspective and Prevalence Rate of Child Prostitution
Child prostitution is considered a curse that affects every nation globally with the situation increasing every year all over the world (Mitchell, Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2010). The current global estimate of children in child prostitution is at about three million with the projections from the International Labor Organization of the issue becoming more widespread in the future. Child prostitution as a form of juvenile delinquency designates the exploitation of children, globally considered as people below the age of 18 years, for some form of remuneration or retribution (Siegel, 2016). This form of exploitation has been revealed as a criminal offense against the children rights and is often carried out in the streets or several establishments like hotels, restaurants, massage parlors, clubs and brothels (Akdeniz, 2016). For instance, the estimates of sexual exploitation victims among children in the United States alone is more than 200,000 per year and over 360,000 children at the same time are at risk of sexual exploitation. The risk even gets more intense in countries associated with exploitation of children especially the females such as India and Pakistan. Based on the studies by the UNHCR in Pakistan in 2013, more than 95% of truck drivers in Pakistan engaged in sexual exploitation of minors both boys and girls as a form of distraction when they are off duty and based on the fact that they stay longer from returning home (Reid & Piquero, 2016). Even with the tightening of the juvenile laws and the increased campaign against child prostitution globally, international bodies still project an increase in the sexual exploitation of the minors. Several factors contribute to the high incidence of child prostitution, and a strict control of those factors is imperative before the vice ends.
Factors Influencing Child Prostitution
According to the findings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2015, it was found out that several factors control sexual exploitation and prostitution of minors. These factors are universal, and affects contribute to the process of exploitation on a global scale. The primary reason influencing sexual exploitation globally today is based on gender discrimination and inequality against the girls and women. According to UNICEF research and findings on sexual exploitation, 98% of the victims are from the feminine gender as the victims being violated and mostly by the male gender. Gender stereotypes have a great influence in the manner in which sexual exploitation takes place (Mitchell, Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2010). The discrimination of women based on their inferior social status creates the environment in which displays sexual mistreatment. Empirical research in this area has also shown that children are the primary targets in sexual exploitation over the adults based on their docility and being less able to defend themselves from the violators (Siegel, 2016). Moreover, in some countries especially in Asia certain stereotypes increases the exploitation of children in prostitution. For instance, one most dominant belief in the Asian communities is that having sexual relations with virgins prevent them from being infected with HIV/AIDS or increases virility and adds success in conducting business (Akdeniz, 2016). Another, factor of children involvement in prostitution is poverty and the promise of high wages which lure them. For instance, quantitative studies in Thai show that about 55% of the prostitutes got into prostitution at an early age to help their parents fulfill their financial obligation. However, another dominant determinant in child prostitution migration and child trafficking as a result of weak political influence (Reid & Piquero, 2016). The quantitative documentation by UNICEF and ILO shows that 6 out of 10 children in prostitution is as a result of migration and trafficking. ILO adds that a great influence on child prostitution also is contributed to high rates of child labor in most countries all over the world.
Consequences of Child Prostitution
The involvement of children, therefore, has several consequences not only to the children themselves but also to the participants in the illegal business. In most cases, children are considered victims but in some cases based on various difficulties they initiate the process and end up being sex tourists (Reid & Piquero, 2016). Various countries are known for sex tourism, therefore, increases the rate of trafficking globally. For instance, young girls are often trafficked to India, Gambia, and Jamaica for prostitution while young boys are trafficked mostly to countries like Suriname, Brazil and Dominican Republic (Akdeniz, 2016). The involvement of children in sexual trade has contributed the spread of AIDS and sexually transmitted infections since several clients assume or refuse to engage in protected intercourse with the children. Moreover, the children have also been connected to high effects based on psychological and physical abuse. Physical consequences of child prostitution have been identified to include vaginal tearing which leads to a lot of pain, infection and even unwanted pregnancies (Mitchell, Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2010). On the other hand, psychological effects include depression, sexual addiction, hatred, sexual and personality orientation confusion and loss of confidence and general mistrust to the adult population (Siegel, 2016). Furthermore, sexual exploitation in several marginalized societies and developing countries has been associated with low access to services such as education, healthcare and reduced access to hygienic conditions.
Conclusion
Several national and international resources globally have been put to help in combating child prostitution, but the rates are still increasing. Therefore, continued research on this issues suggests that more emphasis and focus should be directed to the implementation and enforcement of harsh prosecution laws and policies for the sex abusers and the child traffickers for sexual exploitation. Furthermore, the victims of child prostitution should be involved in the right treatment programs rather than the increased prosecution and used for money making opportunities by the authorities. The development of an equal world filled with equal opportunities both for the children and the adults can also increase mechanisms of combating child prostitution. Based on the few evidence and empirical conclusions, therefore, more research should be conducted to help bring an end to the crime against children rights.
References
Akdeniz, Y. (2016). Internet child pornography and the law: National and international responses. Routledge.
Mitchell, K. J., Finkelhor, D., & Wolak, J. (2010). Conceptualizing juvenile prostitution as child maltreatment: Findings from the National Juvenile Prostitution Study. Child Maltreatment, 15(1), 18-36.
Reid, J. A., & Piquero, A. R. (2016). Applying general strain theory to youth commercial sexual exploitation. Crime & Delinquency, 62(3), 341-367.
Siegel, L. J. (2016). Criminology: The Core. Boston: Cengage Learning.
