C S E C The Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/childprostitution/Niger.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in Niger. 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. HELP for Victims Ministry of Labor and Civil Service ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Children Rights ECPAT: CSEC Country Report nigergroup.pbworks.com/w/page/23964283/Nina [accessed 27 June
2011] [scroll down to
CHILDREN RIGHTS] Child prostitution
is a growing problem in Niger. Poverty is the primary motivating factor, but
the desire for luxury goods and the opportunity to travel abroad are also factors.
Procurers are usually older prostitutes while clients are mostly tourists and
wealthy businessmen. The prostitution of boys is another emerging phenomenon
in the country, involving in most cases street children and children in
conflict with the law. Reports have indicated that boys as young as 12 were
involved in this form of exploitation. ***
ARCHIVES *** ECPAT Country
Monitoring Report [PDF] ECPAT International,
2017 www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CMR_NIGER.pdf [accessed 6
September 2020] Desk review of
existing information on the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in Niger.
The report looks at protection mechanisms, responses, preventive measures,
child and youth participation in fighting SEC, and makes recommendations for
action against SEC. 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/niger/ [accessed 6
September 2020] SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN - Although the law criminalizes the procurement of a
minor for the purpose of prostitution, commercial sexual exploitation of
children was a problem. The minimum age for consensual sex is 13 for both
boys and girls. The law provides,
“exploitation shall include, at minimum, slavery or practices similar to
slavery” and adds that the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring, or
receiving of a minor younger than 18 for the purpose of exploitation shall be
considered trafficking in persons. The penalty for violators is five to 10
years in prison and a fine of 500,000 to five million CFA francs ($850 to
$8,500). If the victim is younger than 18, the penalty is 10 to 30 years’
imprisonment. If the victim dies, the penalty is life imprisonment. The penal code
provides for two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000
CFA francs ($85 to $850) for the prostitution of children. The law prohibits
“indecent” acts against victims younger than 18. It leaves to judges to
determine what constitutes an indecent act. Girls reportedly
were trafficked for forced prostitution along the main East-West highway,
particularly between the cities of Birni n’Konni and Zinder along the border with Nigeria. 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 6
September 2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 873] Although the law
criminalizes the procurement of a minor for the purpose of prostitution,
commercial sexual exploitation of children was a problem. The minimum age for
consensual sex is 13 for both boys and girls. The law provides,
“exploitation shall include, at minimum, slavery or practices similar to
slavery” and adds that the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring, or
receiving of a minor younger than 18 for the purpose of exploitation shall be
considered trafficking in persons. The penalty for violators is five to 10
years in prison and a fine of 500,000 to five million CFA francs ($850 to
$8,500). If the victim is younger than 18, the penalty is 10 to 30 years’
imprisonment. If the victim dies, the penalty is life imprisonment. The penal code
provides for two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000
CFA francs ($85 to $850) for the prostitution of children. The law prohibits
“indecent” acts against victims younger than 18. It leaves to judges to
determine what constitutes an indecent act. Girls reportedly
were trafficked for forced prostitution along the main East-West highway,
particularly between the cities of Birni n’Konni and Zinder along the border with Nigeria. Concluding Observations
of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 7 June 2002 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/niger2002.html [accessed 4 March
2011] [68] The Committee
is concerned at the increasing number of child victims of 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. Five Years After
Stockholm [PDF] ECPAT: Fifth Report
on implementation of the Agenda for Action ECPAT International,
November 2001 www.no-trafficking.org/content/web/05reading_rooms/five_years_after_stockholm.pdf [accessed 13
September 2011] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – NIGER
– Initial information provided by CARITAS Niger suggests that CSEC is growing
in the country with victims aged between 9 and 15. The fear of HIV/AIDS means
that younger girls are being exploited because of the perception that they
are sexually pure. ***
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/niger.htm [accessed 12
December 2010] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children also shine shoes; guard cars; work as
apprentices for artisans, tailors, and mechanics; perform domestic work; and
work as porters and street beggars. Children work under hazardous conditions
in small trona, salt, gypsum, and gold mines and
quarries; prostitution; and drug trafficking; as well as in slaughterhouses.
Niger serves as a source and transit country for children trafficked into for
domestic service and commercial labor, including commercial sexual
exploitation. Some Koranic teachers indenture young boys and send them to beg
in the streets. Forced domestic service and commercial sexual exploitation of
girls is a problem in Niger 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/2005/61585.htm [accessed 10
February 2020] A survey conducted
by a local NGO during the year found that 5.8 percent of households
interviewed claimed that at least one member of their household had been a
victim of trafficking. Internal trafficking of young boys for labor and young
girls for work as maids and in some cases for prostitution from rural to
urban areas occurred. There were credible reports of underage girls being
drawn into prostitution, sometimes with the complicity of the family. There
also were reports that child prostitution was especially prevalent along the
main East‑West highway, particularly between the towns of Birni N'konni and Zinder. Child
prostitution is not criminalized specifically, and there was no precise age
of consent; however, the law prohibits "indecent" acts toward
minors. It was left to a judge to determine what constituted an indecent act.
Such activity and a corollary statute against "the incitement of minors
to wrongdoing" were punishable by three to five years in prison. 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 - Niger",
http://gvnet.com/childprostitution/Niger.htm, [accessed <date>] |
