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| © UNICEF/HQ01-0593/Decesare |
| A young girl in Guatemala. |
The commercial sexual exploitation of children is child sexual abuse involving some sort of payment. That payment is often not to the children themselves but to someone with power over them.
Commercial sexual exploitation includes both the direct use of children for sex and the use of children in sexual images (pornography). It may also involve the crime of child trafficking — when children are transported to another place, either within or outside their own country, for the purpose of exploitation.
The sexual exploitation of children is a crime in every country, and is forbidden by international law and agreements, including by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child.
Who and where?
Those who sexually abuse and exploit children do not fall into any single category. They may be paedophiles — adults who are sexually attracted to children and will commit abuse to fulfil their own desires. Or they may be local people or tourists who want casual sex and who do not care about the age of their sex partner. Or they may be adults who have a continuing abusive relationship with a child, exchanging rewards, gifts or protection for sex.
Those who profit from the sexual exploitation of children also fall into many categories. There are those who directly profit, including the traffickers, pimps and pornographers. And those who indirectly benefit: corrupt officers who take bribes, for example, or traders who ignore or encourage the prostitution of children because they believe it brings them more business.
The commercial sexual exploitation of children happens all over the world, in rich nations and in poor. It happens in brothels, on the streets, and in private homes. It happens both to girls and to boys, but mainly girls are targeted.
Because the sexual exploitation of children is often hidden, it is hard to collect statistics. But the International Labour Organization estimates that up to two million children a year may be victims of this crime.
How and why?
Adults, and sometimes older youth, who abuse and exploit children are taking advantage of their greater wealth, power, status, and perhaps even physical strength. But there are many underlying factors that also make children vulnerable to exploitation: poverty, discrimination against girls, family breakdown, sexual abuse, armed conflict, weak legal systems, and political instability, for example.
The sexual abuse of children causes physical, psychological and social harm that can last a lifetime. Children who have been abused may be rejected by their families and communities. They are highly vulnerable to drug addiction, physical violence, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and early pregnancy.
In these pages you will read about how and why children are sexually exploited and abused, and about what is being done, by adults and children, to stop these crimes from happening – and to make sure all children’s rights are protected.
