Child Trafficking in Sierra Leone
- Document number
- 1244
- Date
- 2005
- Title
- Child Trafficking in Sierra Leone
- Author/publisher
- Rebecca Surtees, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Research/Study/Analysis,
- Keywords
- Child Trafficking, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, Best Interests Principle, Child Victims of Trafficking, Separated Migrant Children, Unaccompanied minors, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Child protection systems, Violence, Human rights violation, Crime against humanity, War crime, Armed conflict, Post-conflict situation, Terrorism,
- Summary
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This preliminary assessment finds that child trafficking is an issue of concern in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is primarily a source country both for internal trafficking (from rural to urban areas) as well as trafficking abroad. To a far lesser extent, Sierra Leone may be a country of transit and destination. Child trafficking victims were both male and female of varying ages. While this assessment primarily considered child trafficking, it was noted that adults were also trafficked from and within the country. Trafficking occurs for a range of different purposes including sexual exploitation (prostitution, marriage), labour (domestic work, mining, fishing, trading and vending, agriculture), begging and petty crime, adoption and into the fighting forces. While there are no statistics available to assess the rate of child trafficking, this preliminary assessment found that child trafficking is apparently occurring quite frequently. This conclusion is based on the rate of (negative) migration experiences by community members in the six districts surveyed as well as a consideration of vulnerable groups in the country, a portion of whom appear to have been trafficked. The most common manifestation of child trafficking appears to be internal cases for the purpose of forced labour and sexual exploitation. This affects both boys and girls. In the absence of confirmed statistics on trafficking, it is perhaps sufficient to note that the various preconditions for trafficking noted in other countries also exist in Sierra Leone. These include economic causes (poverty and material aspiration), political and legal factors (war, corruption, porous borders), cultural factors (normative migration, child labour, early marriage, etc), social condition (limited education, violence in the home) and individual characteristics (rebellion and peer influence). As such, child trafficking must be an area of concern generally for government and civil society as well as factored among the more pressing child protection issues. The current child protection structure does not currently accommodate the specific needs of trafficked minors nor have there been programmes to prevent child trafficking. Further, few trafficking cases have been identified and pursued in the criminal justice system. However, there is currently much commitment to addressing this issue amongst government, NGOs and international organisations. A barometer of this commitment is the recent passage of the anti-trafficking law. It is imperative that continued efforts be focused on child trafficking to address the current situation as well as prevent the further escalation of the problem. The assessment outlines, in addition to the current state trafficking in the country, the various legal, policy and programmatic efforts underway in the country that can be mobilised against child trafficking. Also discussed are the gaps and issues to be considered in on-going counter-trafficking efforts.
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