Press
Release
UNICEF Warns: Demand for Child Sex is
Linked
to Spread of HIV/AIDS
NAIROBI / GENEVA /NEW YORK, 28 November
2001 - The head of the United Nations Children's Fund
said today that one of the most troubling and complex
aspects of the spread of HIV/AIDS is its link to the widespread
sexual exploitation of children.
"Whether it is myths about the curative powers of
sex with young girls, or macho attitudes that sanction
violent sexual behaviour toward women and girls, the links
between sexual abuse of children and the spread of HIV/AIDS
are clear," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol
Bellamy.
Bellamy said that children who are forced into the sex
trade - estimated to be 1 million every year - are the
most vulnerable to contracting and then spreading HIV/AIDS,
and she called for more direct action aimed at challenging
accepted sexual behaviours, as well as action to protect
children from the sex trade to begin with.
Bellamy's comments come as UNICEF gears up for the 2nd
World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation
of Children, December 17-20 in Yokohama, Japan, which
UNICEF is co-sponsoring with ECPAT International, the
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
and the Government of Japan.
Research and preparatory meetings for the Yokohama Congress
have highlighted the need not only to protect the child
victims of commercial sexual exploitation, but also to
diminish the demand among the (mostly) male customers
who abuse them. Contrary to popular belief, research shows
that the majority of exploiters do not match the profile
of the 'paedophile,' but are men who go to prostitutes
and through either machismo or indifference choose ever
younger children for sex.
Fuelling the demand for young girls in some parts of
the world - particularly Asia and Africa - is ignorance
about HIV/AIDS transmission and myths about the curative
powers of virginity. Some exploiters believe that sex
with a child is less risky because the child is more likely
to be 'clean' and unable to transmit disease. In reality,
children are physically more prone to bleeding, infection
and disease. And they are rarely able to negotiate safe
sex or fend off violent behaviour.
In some of the hardest-hit countries, teenage girls are
infected at five-to-six times the rate of teenage boys.
It is estimated that 11.8 million young people between
15-24 years of age are living with HIV/AIDS. More than
7,000 young people become infected each day.
At a recent preparatory meeting for the Yokohama Congress
held in Rabat, Morocco, African delegates reported another
link between HIV/AIDS and sexually exploited children.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, twelve million children
in sub-Saharan Africa have lost a mother or both parents
to HIV/AIDS. This figure is expected to more than double
in the coming decade. These orphans are being drawn into
the sex trade. Not only do they lose their family, these
children are often plunged into deeper poverty, denied
education, forced onto the streets and into labour - all
situations that increase many-fold their vulnerability
to sexual exploitation. [More on Rabat at http://www.unicef.org/events/yokohama/regional-rabat.html].
UNICEF works in many different ways to protect those
children most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.
In Rwanda, UNICEF works with child-headed households to
provide school supplies so that the children can stay
in school. In Haiti, UNICEF supports the training of peer
educators to help young people understand risky behaviour.
In Madagascar and Zimbabwe, UNICEF supports special drop-in
centres for abused children and women that also provide
AIDS education. In Ukraine, where the growth in HIV/AIDS
infection is the fastest in Europe and the vast majority
of intravenous drug users are young people, UNICEF has
established youth information centres and a telephone
helpline.
But tackling the demand for sex with children is essential
if the child sex-HIV/AIDS connection is to be broken.
Bellamy said Yokohama would provide an opportunity to
make concrete progress in this crucial area. "The
sexual abuse of children - in the commercial sex trade
and more generally - accelerates the spread of HIV, and
we must not shy away from confronting exploiters and the
sexual attitudes that allow them to abuse children in
this way," Bellamy said. "We will call
on everyone who can help us - governments, health workers,
brothel operators, the media, school teachers, sex worker
collectives, and people of influence. Tackling this issue
openly and enlightening people's sexual attitudes and
practices is the only way to protect children from this
deplorable practice."
* * *
For further information on the Yokohama Congress,
preparatory consultations, and story/interview opportunities,
contact Congress Media Advisor June Kane on:
E-mail: yokomedia@pleasehelp.co.uk
Tel: +41 22 328 27 85 (outside office hours: +41 79
695 64 88)
fax: +41 22 329 03 10
For direct contact with UNICEF, please contact:
Hans
Olsen, Geneva Regional Office, tel: +41 22 909 5517,
email: holsen@unicef.org
Vera
Oloo-Rosauer, Nairobi Regional Office, tel +254
2 622 218, email: voloo@unicef.org
Beatrice
Karanja, Nairobi Regional Office, tel +254 2 622
770, email: bkaranja@unicef.org
Mitchie
Topper, New York, tel +212 303 7910, email: mtopper@unicef.org
For Yokohama press accreditation: http://www.focalpointngo.org/yokohama/pressinfo/accreditation.htm
To Broadcasters: A new B-roll videotape
is available that highlights the commercial sexual exploitation
of children and various programmes to prevent it. This
38-minute B-roll includes strong material filmed recently
in Albania, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, India and Nicaragua.
To preview scripts and sequences or to order a tape please
visit: http://www.unicef.org/broadcast/brolls/csec/
|
