C S E C The Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/childprostitution/Afghanistan.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in Afghanistan. Some of
these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are
unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.
No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify
their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking for
material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of child prostitution are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring how children got started, how they survive, and how
some succeed in leaving. Perhaps your
paper could focus on runaways and the abuse that led to their leaving. Other factors of interest might be poverty,
rejection, drug dependence, coercion, violence, addiction, hunger, neglect,
etc. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the manipulative and dangerous adults who control this
activity. There is a lot to the
subject of Child Prostitution. Scan
other countries as well as this one.
Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or
regions. Meanwhile, check out some of
the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Sex Trade Thrives
in Afghanistan Associated Press AP,
Kabul, 6/14/2008 www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25164944/ [accessed 27 March
2011] The girl was 11
when she was molested by a man with no legs. The man paid her $5. And that
was how she started selling sex. The girl is now 13,
and her features have just sharpened into striking beauty. She speaks four
languages — the local languages of Pashtu and Dari, the Urdu she picked up as
a refugee in Pakistan and the English she learned in a $2.40-a-month course
she pays for herself in Kabul. She is the breadwinner in her family of
10. She does not know what a condom is. She has not heard of AIDS. ***
ARCHIVES *** Human
Rights Reports » 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 10, 2020 www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/afghanistan/ [accessed 21 August
2020] CHILD
ABUSE -
Police reportedly beat and sexually abused children.
Children who sought police assistance for abuse also reported being further
harassed and abused by law enforcement officials, particularly in bacha bazi cases, deterring victims from reporting their claims.
NGOs reported a predominantly punitive and retributive approach to juvenile
justice throughout the country. Although it is against the law, corporal
punishment in schools, rehabilitation centers, and other public institutions
remained common. In
November human rights defenders exposed the sexual abuse of at least 165
schoolboys from six high schools in Logar Province,
alleging that teachers, headmasters, and local authorities were implicated in
the abuse. Teachers would often film videos of rapes and threaten to post
videos if victims spoke out. The release of videos and exposure of the
scandal led to at least five honor killings of the victims. Two human rights
defenders were subsequently placed in NDS detention after exposing the
allegations, forced to apologize for their reporting, and continued to face
threats after their release. Several officials rejected the allegations. The
AGO investigation into the scandal reportedly suffered from a lack of public
and political support, insufficient investigation time, and faulty
investigation mechanisms, including public interviews. There
were reports some members of the military and progovernment
groups sexually abused and exploited young girls and boys. During the first
six months of the year, UNAMA documented credible reports of four cases of
sexual violence involving five children carried out by parties to the armed
conflict. Two girls were raped by antigovernment elements, and three boys
were raped, used for bacha bazi, or both by the ALP
and ANP. According to media and NGO reports, many of these cases went
unreported or were referred to traditional mediation, which often allowed
perpetrators to reoffend. UNICEF - Afghanistan www.unicef.org/infobycountry/afghanistan.html [accessed 27 March
2011] 2018 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2019 www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2018/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 22 August
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 102 Children are
subject to commercial sexual exploitation throughout the country. A remaining
concern is the practice of bacha bazi, or boy play,
in which men–including police commanders, tribal leaders, warlords, and mafia
heads–force boys to provide social and sexual entertainment. (46; 51; 52) In
many cases, these boys are dressed in female clothing, used as dancers at
parties and ceremonies, and sexually exploited. (46) According to the
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the practice exists in all
provinces of the country. (53) Research has found specific cases in the
provinces of Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab,
Helmand, Konduz, Takhar,
and Uruzgan. (49; 52; 46) A national inquiry
conducted in 2014 found that most boys were between the ages of 13 and 16,
and that 60 percent of them had been subjected to physical violence,
confinement, and threats of death. (46) Some government officials, including
members of the Afghan National Police, the Afghan Local Police, and the
Afghan Border Police, exploit boysfor bacha bazi as well as for work as tea servers or cooks in
police camps. (54; 46; 48; 49; 51; 53; 44; 55) A few such cases took place
and were documented in 2017. (4; 56; 57) Some local police commanders abduct
boys and use them for bacha bazi. (48; 49) Afghan children are
trafficked both domestically and internationally. Afghan boys are used for
forced labor in agriculture and construction abroad, and girls tend to be
used for commercial sexual exploitation and domestic work in destination
countries, primarily Iran and Pakistan. (44) Children were trafficked to
settle their family’s debt, including in the production of bricks and illicit
drugs. (2; 8; 44) Some Afghan girls are subjected to forced marriage in
exchange for money for their families. (56) Reports indicate that girls from
Iran, Pakistan, and China are trafficked to Afghanistan for commercial sexual
exploitation. (56) Some child laborers are subjected to sexual violence. (20;
35) According to an international organization, there is an emerging trend of
forced recruitment of trafficked children into non-state armed groups. (32). INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Afghanistan is a
country of origin and transit for children trafficked for the purposes of sexual
exploitation, forced marriage, labor, domestic servitude, slavery, crime, and
the removal of body organs. Since early 2003, there have been increasing
reports of children reported as missing throughout the country. It is also
reported that impoverished Afghan families have sold their children into
forced sexual exploitation, marriage, and labor. Five Years After
Stockholm [PDF] ECPAT: Fifth Report
on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC] ECPAT International,
November 2001 www.no-trafficking.org/content/web/05reading_rooms/five_years_after_stockholm.pdf [accessed 13
September 2011] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan has
conducted surveys in four camps in Pakistan, and discovered that many
children have become involved in prostitution. Many children have ended up on
the streets where they often lack basic education and live in extreme
poverty. Additionally, many of them are in deep depression and addicted to
opium. Save the Environment - Afghanistan is therefore alerting attention
towards these children who are all highly vulnerable to commercial sexual
exploitation. Also within the borders of Afghanistan, children as young as
eight and nine have been reported to be prostituted in Taliban-controlled
areas. Report
Documents Poverty And Social Misery In Afghanistan Joanne Laurier,
World Socialist Web Site, 2 March 2005 www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/afgh-m02.shtml [accessed 27 March
2011] Children have been
the primary victims of more than two decades of conflict. Of the estimated
1.5 million people killed during this period, some 300,000 were children.
Abduction and trafficking in children is now a rapidly growing threat, with
the most common forms of trafficking being child prostitution, forced labor,
slavery, servitude and the removal of body organs. Afghanistan:
Report Watchlist on Children and
Armed Conflict - Country Reports www.watchlist.org/reports/files/afghanistan.report.php [accessed 27 March
2011] TRAFFICKING
AND EXPLOITATION
- Female trafficking for sexual purposes is a thriving business in
Afghanistan. Girls are purchased from within Afghanistan and trafficked
through Pakistan for destinations in the Gulf, Iran, and elsewhere to be
wives or prostitutes. According to reports from the field, young boys are
also trafficked through channels leading to the Gulf area. Some children and
adolescents remain in Pakistan, where distinct brothels exist for Afghans.
The children most likely to be trafficked for sexual purposes are girls,
those from tribal groups and ethnic minorities, stateless persons and
refugees, and those living in poverty. Other incidents of trafficking of
children for sexual purposes have been reported. ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** The Department of
Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/afghanistan.htm [accessed 18 January
2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor Human
Rights Reports » 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 6, 2007 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78868.htm [accessed 31 March
2020] CHILDREN
-
According to a recent UNHCR report, the practice of using young boys as
objects of pleasure by commanders, tribal leaders, and others was more than a
rare occurrence. Such relations were often coercive and opportunistic in that
more influential, older men were taking advantage of the poor economic
situation of some families and young males, leaving them with little choice.
There were also a few documented cases of abduction of young boys for sexual
exploitation by commanders. The MOI recorded at least 130 cases of rape of
young boys during the year. There were no child labor laws or other
legislation to protect child abuse victims. TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– There were continued reports of poor families promising young girls in
marriage to satisfy family debts. There were a number of reports that
children, particularly from the south and southeast, were trafficked to
Pakistan to work in factories, or internally for commercial sexual
exploitation in brothels. Human
Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61704.htm [accessed 31 March
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS -
Trafficking victims, especially those trafficked for sexual
exploitation, faced societal discrimination, particularly in their home villages,
and the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. At
year's end according to the AIHRC, authorities
repatriated 317 children from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Zambia, and Oman. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, with the assistance of UNICEF, set up a
transit center to assist with these returns, and other agencies such as the
AIHRC helped with the children's reunification and reintegration. 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, "Child Prostitution - Afghanistan",
http://gvnet.com/childprostitution/Afghanistan.htm, [accessed <date>] |
