Child trafficking consists of considering minors to be a piece of merchandise that can be bought or sold, and not necessarily just by abducting them. The motives of criminals who commit this abuse are in most cases financial.

According to Unicef, a child who is a victim of trafficking is a person aged less than eighteen years who is recruited, transported, transferred, sheltered or accommodated with the purpose of being exploited within or outside of a given country.

What does the International Convention on the Rights of the Child say?

Article 35 – The state must take every measure to put an end to the kidnapping, sale and trafficking of children.

In short, child trafficking is strictly forbidden and in fact it is generally estimated that more than a million children are victims every year, how is this possible?

Though a certain number of children are unfortunately sold by their parents, and we can only imagine the psychological consequences of this, most of them leave their families after having been deceived about the aim of their trip. Traffickers explain to poor families that an honest, paid job is waiting for their child (in another country or another region), and that they will be fed. The parents, who often do not have the means to look after their children, accept, thinking they are making a decision to save their young ones.

Furthermore, as has already been mentioned, traffickers kidnap children.

 How are child victims exploited?

There are several possible answers, each one more terrible than the other. 3 main areas stand out:

Labour

Children represent cheap labour, do not ask for much food, do not dare complain and help to particularly increase the profits of exploiters. These are modern slaves (See the episode on children in mines).

Sexual exploitation

In numerous countries, children are sexually exploited. In certain cases, children aged less than 10 years old are forced into prostitution. The trafficking of children represents a major source of supply for this odious business. (See the episode on child prostitution).

Child soldiers

According to Unicef, more than 300,000 children were used as soldiers in 2007. There, too, the trafficking of children was mainly used as ‘canon fodder’. (See the episode on child soldiers).

The fact that child trafficking continues to exist in countries that have signed the International Convention on the Rights of the Child is a scandal and a disgrace. The Internet can help to save these children by highlighting their plight and making a big noise about it, which mobilises international public opinion, and therefore governments.

To see the cartoon on child trafficking, click here

To see the quiz, click here

To see the cartoon on unsafe working practices, click here

To see the cartoon on child prostitution, click here

To see the cartoon on child soldiers, click here

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