Children are often considered treasures for families especially as they would be the voices of the future. They must be given the capacity to study, grow and become productive citizens without fearing to work or be abused in any way. However, some children are forced into slavery and trafficked into sexual workers. Although action has been enacted by the international community to stop child sexual trafficking, there are still regions – such as South Asia, which still has high cases of child trafficking. Considering this issue, it is a question as to why child sex trafficking continues to persist in areas like South Asia and how it can be prevented. There must be a reconsideration to South Asia’ anti-child sex trafficking campaign because children are forced into sexual trafficking because of the presence of violence and abuse, persistence of poverty, gender inequality and discrimination, and corruption in various parts of the region.
South Asia is currently considered a region of origin of children trafficked to various activities and transported beyond the borders of East Asia, the Gulf States and Europe. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund’s report regarding South Asia, trafficked children in South Asia vary extensively as to where they are trafficked and what tasks are demanded of them. Sexual exploitation is a primary purpose for some of these children, while others are forced into hard labor in agriculture and domestic service. A few of these trafficked children are even exploited to criminal activity: from begging in the streets to serious crimes. There are also reported cases where some children are illegally adopted then trafficked out of their home countries; however, UNICEF has indicated that further research is required to do these tasks. For countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh, some of these children are trafficked for forced or arranged marriages.
The persistence of child trafficking in any degree in South Asia is similar to other countries. Some of the notable root causes for child trafficking in the region include abuse and violence against children in their homes to public institution, gender discrimination, social and economic marginalization triggering poverty and corruption. Out of these factors, gender inequality and discrimination is the most serious factor of them all, especially towards girls. Girls tend to be at high risk to infanticide and foeticide as they are considered property rather than children. Girls are often restricted as to what they can learn and they can do outside their homes. In order to prevent the social and economic consequences of having an unwed child, especially girls; family members traffick them to other families in the form of arranged and fixed marriages. Some boys are indeed trafficked for sexual activity; but South Asian human traffickers tend to use boys for other activities such as working in the camel-raising industry or forced labor. Discrimination is also a major cause of child trafficking in South Asia based on their ages, gender, caste, sexual orientation, and abilities. These factors tend to cause children to become vulnerable to all types of abuse and trafficking as these children are rendered helpless to stop these attacks and eventually wish for an escape .
Corruption and the persistence of poverty are also seen as a root cause of human trafficking, especially in areas like India, Bangladesh and Nepal. According to M. Bashir Uddin, India currently has the largest labor trafficking cases in the world and 2.8 million individuals are trafficked for sexual purposes. Bangladesh and Nepal also have similar problems with 5,000 to 15,000 people trafficked per year. Aside from gender disparity and discrimination, cultural practices, and prostitution, economic insecurity, poverty and corruption are rampant in these parts, especially in India where the economic disparity between the rich and the poor remain very high. Child laborers are very high in these countries due to the prevailing practices and although international action is already raised on what countries can do to stop illegal child trafficking, it remains high in these three countries because of corruption. Public officials are often silent when it comes to their unsolicited activities due to the possibility of being imprisoned. Victims are unable to reach out, in turn, to these public officials in the fear that these officials would threaten their lives in the process. Corruption would also grow once criminals win the favor of public officials through bribes or threats. There are cases where victims are not given clear assistance by public officials despite their dilemma. In one case in India, a family member of a trafficked girl was reported but the police did not investigate the case. The Trafficking in Persons Reported in 2012 highlighted that some South Asian countries – including India, and Bangladesh – do not have a clear action against trafficking as corruption is rampant .
With South Asia now catching up in economic development, there is a necessity for the government institutions in the region to recognize the problem in all forms of trafficking. Although South Asia currently has anti-trafficking laws active to stop the numbers from growing, Roomana Hukil of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies stressed that reform is necessary in South Asian countries to develop a clearer definition of trafficking and how it can be stopped because currently laws like the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act in India is too narrow and victims themselves are judged rather than the traffickers. Child trafficking is even ignored as a form of human trafficking as seen in Nepal and Afghanistan. Law enforcement agencies must lead in imposing trafficking interventions in all levels and assist victims once reports are filed regarding trafficking cases. Law enforcers must be trained to determine how they can respond to any reported trafficking case and provide the necessary assistance they can render to victims. They must also be trained to understand the judicial process and how they can determine trafficking crimes. Victim identification must also be done in order to help potential victims of trafficking. The civil society groups and non-governmental organizations must also work with South Asian law enforcers and their respective governments because they specialize in providing specialized treatment protection and assistance to victims. National hotlines must be made available and currently, South Asian NGOs and even international organizations have anti-trafficking mechanisms that is open for survivors to assist on how trafficking can be stopped .
The problem of child trafficking is a very serious issue felt around the world and violates every right given to a child from the time of their birth. As these children are forced into doing acts – especially sexual acts- that degrades their identity, it threatens their lives in more ways than one. It is essential that governments in regions such as South Asia begin efforts in targeting the root causes of child sexual trafficking in order to stop the numbers from growing. If these root causes are not resolved directly from its sources, it is not unlikely that child trafficking would continue to increase. Children are the voices of the future and they must be given the right to grow up without worrying about work or fearing for their lives.
In addition to this, according to an article posted by the Islamic Monthly that there are Asian Advertisements that carry with them hidden messages. Often times it is observed that there are websites that promote tours in various parts of Asia. These promotions are bannered with beautiful sceneries such as exotic jungles, temples and children. However, the sad reality behind these colourful advertisements is that there twenty-seven million sex slaves worldwide and majority of that number, 89%, are in Asia particularly in Southeast Asia (The Islamic Monthly, p. 1). Some of the foreigners who look at Asian sites often get encouraged by the tag line “Brides for Sale”, “Pedophile’s Paradise” and many other sexually related advertisements.
As mentioned, there are many forms of human trafficking and this industry has distributed itself into various industries. Asian countries such as Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand are all labelled as Tier 2 nations and are known for their child-sex tourism industry. According to Islamic Monthly, in Cambodia, for example, there is a high demand for young virgins amongst Cambodian men and their philosophy is that the younger the better. The rationale behind this thinking is that the youth are less likely to carry sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/ AIDS. Poor families in the region are exploited to sell their children in exchange of money. This is also true in Thailand wherein children are being sold into sexual exploitation. Children are not only used for sexual purposes but other form of human trafficking such as begging, street hawking and other forced labours (UNESO).
Other forms of human trafficking present in the region includes bride for sale or rent. For example, women in Vietnam often fall victims to such arrangements. Other young people are tricked into working abroad with the promise of better opportunities only to fall prey to illegal recruiters who sell them to their patrons internationally. Even today, the exact numbers of victims from each Asian nation are still unknown as there are victims who do not surface to report their abuse and experience out of shame and guilt. But today, the child-sex tourism in many parts of Asia is a thriving industry that continues to grow due to international linkages. In reality, the number of people being jailed and persecuted for human trafficking does not compensate the number of victims who continue to suffer (Lisa p. 1). Unfortunately, those who get arrested for human trafficking receive short sentences. One example is that in Brunei where one Thai national who got caught for trafficking received a sentence of four years in prison (The Islamic Monthly, p.1).
Why should people care or take action for combating child-sex trafficking not only in Asia but around the world? First, the victims are getting younger and their conditions are getting worse. These children do not deserve to be sold into sexual slavery. Their innocence is not for sale. Many families are forced to sell their children due to their poor conditions and the lack of government support. They are victims of the alarming cycle of poverty. Asian human trafficking also gives way to racial discrimination and oppression wherein people look at Asians as sex slaves. Some of the victims of human trafficking come from ethnically marginalized groups who are taken from their homes and are exploited due to their lack of education and social integration.
Works Cited
Curtis, Lisa.” Combating Human Trafficking in Asia Requires US Leadership’. 2014.
< http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/02/combating-human-trafficking-in-asia-requires-us-leadership>
Hukil, Roomana. "South Asia: Anti-Trafficking, Flesh Trade and Human Rights." Institute of
Peace and Conflict Studies, 12 September 2013. Web. 15 April 2016 <http://www.ipcs.org/article/india/south-asia-anti-trafficking-flesh-trade-and-human-rights-4116.html>.
The Islamic Monthly. “Truth in Advertising: Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia” The Islamic Monthly (2014). P1. Print
Uddin, M. Bashir. "Human Trafficking in South Asia: Issues of Corruption and Human
Security." International Journal of Social Work and Human Services Practice 2.1 (2014): 18-27. Print.
UNESCO. “Combating Human Trafficking in South-East Asia” IOM International Organization for Migration. (2000). Print
United Nations Children's Fund. South Asia in Action: Preventing and Responding to Child
Trafficking: Summary Report. Florence: Innocenti Research Center, United Nations Children's Fund, 2008. Print.
