Human Trafficking in [Gambia] [other countries]Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children In
the first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
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CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in The Gambia. 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. ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** GAMBIA: Rising poverty breeds sexual exploitation of children by Sugar Daddies The sexual abuse of children in the Gambia is increasing as a result of rising poverty in the small West African country and Gambian men rather than European tourists are mainly responsible for the phenomenon, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in new report published this week. Gambia has long been linked with sex tourism, but the UNICEF study, published on Wednesday, found that the main abusers of local children were male Gambian "Sugar Daddies." “There is a certain tolerance in wider society that this is going on,” Faye told IRIN. She said one of the strongest indications that a traditional taboo on such behaviour is being lifted is the new aggressive pursuit of Sugar Daddies by the children themselves. Globalization Of Sex Trade www.socialwatch.org/en/informesTematicos/40.html SEXUAL
REGIONALIZATION - In Gambia, middle-aged European
women seek sex with young local men. The prevailing model is that of street
children, women or boys that use sex to supplement their income from other
activities, such as begging. ***
ARCHIVES *** www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/AF/Global_Monitoring_Report-GAMBIA.pdf The Gambia is affected by several
forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The occurrence of child
sex tourism in The Gambia is well documented, and a UNICEF report from 2003
concluded that “The Gambia is a vulnerable target for … unscrupulous
visitors, such as suspected or convicted paedophiles
who enter the country in search of a low profile location to commit their
crimes against children silently and with impunity.” The significant number
of European sex tourists who abuse poor girls and boys in the country has
attracted much attention from the local press, and several charges against
child sex tourists have been brought before the courts in The Gambia and in
Europe. The methods of facilitation and contact points between children and
tourists are well known and even discussed publicly by tourism authorities.
For instance, at a recent tourism forum, a government representative
highlighted that tourists usually gain access to vulnerable children by befriending
them, especially those who sell items on the beach and those on the streets
(mainly in the Bakau and Crocodile Pool areas). It
was also pointed out that the role played by staff in the tourism industry
facilitates such contacts. While girls are the primary target
of commercial sexual exploitation, boys have been increasingly victimised in the last few years, especially in the
tourism sector. In research conducted
by the Child Protection Alliance (CPA) – the ECPAT group in the country – and
Terre des Hommes, interviews with boys involved in
prostitution confirmed that the perpetrators are usually foreigners, some of
whom travel to The Gambia on package tour holidays for the specific purpose
of having sexual relationships with young Gambian men. The research also
indicated that a number of ‘bumsters’ - young
people who follow tourists and offer to be a guide or a friend - are engaged
in commercial sex or act as pimps. Anecdotal evidence and observation of
certain locations around the beach and tourism development areas suggests
that some of these ‘bumsters’ are below the age of
18. It is important to note that a certain percentage of sex tourists in The
Gambia are female, and as such, it is possible that underage boys are also
being sexually exploited by women. U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - According to UNICEF, commercial sexual exploitation of children is
on the rise. The problem is most acute in the sex tourism industry,
where young children, especially girls, are coerced by Gambian adults
offering gifts and promises of a better or “more Western” life style. Child trafficking is also a problem. As a
transit and destination country, the Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – In
January 2004 a joint UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)-government study reported
that children engaged in prostitution in the main tourist resort areas were
predominantly underage, some as young as 12. The report stated that the
country has become an attraction for suspected or convicted European
pedophiles that entered the country as tourists and committed their crimes
against children with impunity. Victims of trafficking were children of both
sexes, normally younger than 16 to 18 years old, and included both citizens
and immigrants or refugees from Some child prostitution victims
stated they worked to support their families, or because they were orphans
and their guardian/procurer supported them. The guardian/procurer often
assumed the role of the "African uncle," allowing the children to
live in his compound with their younger siblings or paying school fees on
their behalf in return for their servitude Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [64] The Committee is concerned
about the large and increasing number of child victims of commercial sexual
exploitation, including for prostitution and pornography, especially among child
laborers and street children. Concern is also expressed at the insufficient
programs for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration
of child victims of such abuse and exploitation. Koranic
schools in Senegal fuel child trafficking Until recently most countries in
West Africa did not have laws to penalize rape or child trafficking, although
the situation was improving, Legrand said. But as
one government cracked down on abuse, the problem moved to another country. A
recent drive against child prostitution in Gambia had driven sex tourism to
other parts of the region, such as Togo, ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for
Action [DOC] www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – THE GAMBIA– CSEC and especially sex tourism is a problem in the Gambia. There is
also ample evidence of sexual abuse within the home and community and of the
“bombsters” or “beach boy” phenomenon whereby young
people eke out a living from commercial sexual relationships with tourists. Report by Special Rapporteur [DOC] [42] The age of criminal liability
is 7. A child under 12 may be criminally liable for involvement in
prostitution or pornography if it can be proven that he or she had knowledge
to understand the act of commission or omission. Research on
sexual exploitation of children is under way and preparations are being made
to harmonize domestic laws with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to
enact a Children’s Code and to establish a National Commission on
Children. The necessary laws will be in place in
2003. Childcare units have been established at the Departments of
Social Welfare and the Police, and a Child Protection Alliance, which
includes government departments, United Nations agencies, local and
international NGOs and other organizations, has developed a National Plan of
Action on Child Protection. A Child Rights Unit has been established at the
Attorney-General’s Chambers. Child Sex Tourism And
Exploitation Increasing In The Gambia It reveals the strong existence of
a false “glamorization” of prostitution, particularly in sex tourism. “Many
children engaged in prostitution spoke of their envy of girls involved in
prostitution – their clothes, style and hanging out at nightclubs.” For many,
according to the report, being a sex worker “means having access to a lot of
cash to buy jeans, shoes, to go to beauty salons for hair and nail care to show
off at beach parties and nightclubs.” Although sex tourism is the more
sensational face of the sexual exploitation of children in The Gambia, “sugar
daddies” perhaps represent its more pervasive face. This involves sexual
abuse and exploitation of young girls by adult Gambian men in exchange for
money and gifts, and includes, according to the report, family members,
teachers and other trusted adults. GAMBIA: Rising
poverty breeds sexual exploitation of children by Sugar Daddies The sexual abuse of children in
the Gambia is increasing as a result of rising poverty in the small West
African country and Gambian men rather than European tourists are mainly
responsible for the phenomenon, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
said in new report published this week.
Gambia has long been linked with sex tourism, but the UNICEF study,
published on Wednesday, found that the main abusers of local children were
male Gambian "Sugar Daddies." “There is a certain tolerance in
wider society that this is going on,” Faye told IRIN. She said one of the
strongest indications that a traditional taboo on such behaviour
is being lifted is the new aggressive pursuit of Sugar Daddies by the
children themselves. Community
attitudes towards sexual exploitation
of children In some instance, adults did say
that children must play a role in their own protection-primary by listening
to and following the advice of their parents and other elders. As some of the
children’s groups observed, many adults agreed that parents can only do so
much to protect their children. Even if their needs are taken care of, they
can still engage in behaviour that is detrimental
to their well being, such as sexual relations with sugar daddies. Most
children engaged in prostitution did in fact say that their parents had no
idea of what they did for a living and they could easily hide their income
from them. Thus, the prevailing idea that parents collude with and support
their children’s exploitation could be a partial exaggeration, perhaps a
convenient form of denial that one’s own children could become a victim.
Adult prostitutes generally blamed themselves and the men who exploited them
for their predicament. The idea that, as children, parents and authorities
should have protected them seemed native to most of them and a denial of
their own agency and ability to make a rational decision. Europeans
Involved In Gambian Child Sex Tourism One of the typical ways of
contacting the children is establishing a relation to a poor family by
"offering financial help for buying food and then offering school
sponsorship to children. The The Protection Project - The Gambia [DOC] FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE - An increase in government legal responses in countries such as
Thailand has redirected the flow of European pedophiles to places such as The
Gambia. A quarter of the Gambian
population lives on tourism, and this fact, combined with the fact that Gambia
is a cheap destination, has drawn pedophiles and other sex tourists. FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - The Department of Social Welfare
launched a UNICEF-funded study on sexual abuse and exploitation of children
in The Gambia in May 2004. The report concluded that Gambian children face
exploitation in the form of sex tourism as well as child pornography and
trafficking associated with the tourism industry and that most children
involved in prostitution are encouraged to do so by their parents in order to
supplement family income. Moreover, it
is common for girls as young as 13 or 14 years of age to get married; in
addition, young girls will engage in sexual relations with older men in
exchange for gifts, a practice known as the “Sugar Daddy Syndrome.” Another common traditional practice, known
as the “Almudu Syndrome,” involves sending
children, usually teenagers, to study Islam and the Qur’an
with a knowledgeable adult. In return for their education, the children work
for their teachers; however, in some cases children do not receive their
promised education and are exploited by their teachers, even becoming sex
slaves. Gambian Child-Sex Tourism Case
Rolled Up A Norwegian teacher has been
charged with sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy in The Gambia. The case is rolled up by Norwegian police
in A Scot Due Today To Face Charges www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/IRC/newsdesk_articles.asp?SCID=1474 A Scot due today to face charges
of raping a ten-year-old girl in European paedophiles flock to Gambian 'Smiling Coast' So the youth of the Gambia - 50 per cent of the population is under 18 - look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays when the planes from Gatwick disgorge holidaymakers on the 'Smiling Coast'. The child prostitutes do not 'consider themselves as children and do not understand that they require special protection because of their age. Globalization Of Sex Trade www.socialwatch.org/en/informesTematicos/40.html SEXUAL
REGIONALIZATION - In Gambia, middle-aged European
women seek sex with young local men. The prevailing model is that of street
children, women or boys that use sex to supplement their income from other
activities, such as begging. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC §
107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Gambia] [other countries]Street Children in [Gambia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Gambia