Maputo, November 27 2019
Child sexual exploitation is on the rise in Africa and is affecting the entire continent, according to a shocking new study released today [November 27]. An increasingly accessible and unregulated internet, combined with weak law enforcement and a rise in child sex tourism have together created a perfect storm of opportunities for child sex offenders to thrive.
The new report from the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), Sexual Exploitation of Children in Africa – A Silent Emergency, provides alarming evidence of the scale of the problem. In Ghana, for example, nearly 40 percent of children interviewed had experienced indecent assault, and 18 percent said they had been raped. In South Africa, one in three children is at risk of sexual abuse before the age of 17.
âDespite the evidence of this growing problem, many countries in Africa either underestimate, misunderstand or ignore the scale of this heinous crime. Child sexual exploitation is the silent emergency of our time,â said Dr Assefa Bequele, Executive Director of ACPF. âThe disturbing rise in child sexual exploitation has its roots in poverty, inequality and discrimination exacerbated by traditional patriarchal attitudes and cultural practices such as child marriage and treating children as property.â
âChild sexual exploitation is a hidden scandal,â said Mrs Graça Machel, Chair of the Graça Machel Trust. âOne out of three child victims of sexual exploitation tells no one about her or his experiences, fearing being disbelieved or blamed, reprisals and public shame.â
âBoys are even less likely to report being sexually exploited, a situation made worse by the absence of laws to protect them. Lack of faith in the police and courts and the absence of child-friendly remedial and response services mean these crimes are rarely reported, and even more rarely prosecuted. The sexual exploitation of children is a multifaceted problem which requires action on multiple fronts,â said Mrs Machel.
âAfrica is fast becoming the new frontier for online child sexual exploitation, but legislation and child protection measures are failing to keep up,â said report author Shimelis Tsegaye. âVery few African countries have laws criminalising online sexual crimes, and those that do frequently fail to enforce them adequately. Many children are unsafe even within their own homes. Grooming, sexting, sexual extortion and live streaming of child sexual abuse – sometimes with the connivance of parents – is made possible because very few African countries have laws to protect children online.â
âIncreasing sex tourism is another worrying trend. Laws regulating sexual exploitation in travel and tourism in Africa are weak or non-existent,â added Tsegaye. âThis gives free rein to criminals intent on sexually exploiting children. Ninety percent of sex tourists are men, typically from the USA, UK, Italy, Germany, Canada, Korea and China, who target countries with weak or poorly-enforced laws such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan.â
Children with disabilities, who work or live on the street, or who work as domestic servants are especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation. The study found that nearly three quarters of girls living on the street in Uganda experienced sexual violence, while in Cameroon and Senegal, more than half the children with disabilities interviewed who reported sexual exploitation had been raped.
âProgress on tackling child sexual exploitation remains woefully slow and inadequate,â said Dr Bequele. âAfrican governments must urgently pass laws which explicitly define and prohibit sexual exploitation, which recognise boys as victims of sexual exploitation, and which prohibit child sex tourism and online exploitation.â
ENDS
About ACPF: African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is an independent, not-for-profit Pan-African centre of policy research and advocacy centre on the African child. It was established in 2003 out of concern about the situation of the African child and the need for Africans to recognise their responsibility to collectively ensure the realisation of all rights to all children.
More information at http://africanchildforum.org/
Copies of Sexual Exploitation of Children in Africa – A Silent Emergency will be available online on the day of the launch. For an advanced copy under embargo, and for further information, please contact Martin Atkin, Communications Consultant:
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Email: martin@funnelweb.org. | Call +44(0)779 544 3607 | Skype: martin.atkin
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