Measures+against+the+sexual+exploitation+of+children.

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=**What is happening? **= In recent times, the media has presented to the world with ever more horrifying reports of pedophile activities and sexual abuse involving children. According to UNICEF, there are more than one million images of some ten to twenty thousand sexually assaulted children posted on the internet. Of those thousands of children, only a few hundred have been identified. The rest are left unidentified, neglected, and most likely still being maltreated. The internet, with the anonymity it brings, has created huge possibilities for people to commit sexual crimes against children. The evolution of the internet and technology has changed the nature of these crimes, posing new risks and challenges towards creating measures against the sexual exploitation of children. With the statistics we know, there are currently 217.7 million children from the ages of 5 to 17 years old, working in child labor. 126 million of these children are being engaged in the “worst forms of child labor”. The labor includes “trafficking, armed conflict, slavery, debt bondage, sexual exploitation and hazardous work” ([|Fact Sheet: Child Labor]). An estimated 1.2 million children per year are affected by human trafficking. The children who are sexually exploited are sold into prostitution due to family debts that their guardians could no longer uphold, or recruited against their will because of being unprotected on the streets. Girls, as young as 13, (mainly from Asia and Eastern Europe) are trafficked as “mail-order” brides to middle-aged men who not only rape these girls, but also physically abuse them. Other children are forced to work in brothels, with some prostituted children being only of the age of 5. Though being young, these children are still required to have sex with as many as 30 men each day. Child sex trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry, many of whom are trafficked for commercial sex work. Not only are children used for sexual intercourse, they have also been used to create pornographic films to sell and publish. ([|Global Issues: Child Trafficking])

=**Who is impacted and how? **= The sexual exploitation of children occurs in both rich and poor countries. However, according to studies, as poverty worsens and living conditions deteriorate, the number of children who become vulnerable to sex-trade increases. Thus the reason why less economically developed countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, India and Brazil are recorded with the highest rates of commercial sexual exploitation of children. ([|Press: Child Sexual Exploitation]) Poverty, both within individual families and within nations, is a major factor that contributes to child labor and sexual exploitation. It is shown in studies that there is a connection of income levels and child labor as the poorest countries were registered with the highest rates of child labor ([|International Trade and Child Labor: Cross-Country Evidence]). However, though child exploitation is a consequence of poverty, it is also a major cause. Because of child exploitation, children are prevented from going to school. They are forced to work and are deprived from adequate education. Without the sufficient education that is needed, it is unlikely for these exploited children to find good occupations as adults. Therefore their own children may be forced to work, and an endless cycle of forced labor within the family is generated. ([|Global Issues: Child Trafficking]) It is also general knowledge that these victims are at high risk of unwanted pregnancies. Moreover, because of the lowly environment these children are living under and the mistreatment they undergo, they are at high risk of receiving HIV/aids or/and other sexually transmitted diseases. The minority of children who do manage to escape from the sexual abuse face “social stigma, family rejection, shame, fear of retribution, and the loss of future economic prospects”. Additionally, from observations of counseling with victims, the damage from such sexual activities sustains long after the defilements and violations on the children. These children suffer harm sexually, physically, and emotionally. The harm they suffer is so deep and so penetrating that it may last a lifetime or even result into an early death. ([|Press Release: UNICEF Calls for Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children]) To have these negative impacts on our future generation will completely change society as time comes.

=**What is currently being done to address the issue? **= The sexual exploitation of children is a worldwide phenomenon. There are news reports ranging from places around the world that documents events such as the trafficking of young women from Eastern European countries to the West, the murder of several girls at the hands of child pornographers in Belgium, and the hiring of child prostitutes, highlighting the true global nature of the problem. These reports indicate that the issue of the sexual exploitation of children is not limited to either the developed or developing world. Actions against the sexual exploitation of children were first projected in 1994 by a Thailand based NGO: [|End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT]). The collaboration then grew between ECPAT, the [|United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF]) and nongovernmental organizations supporting the [|Convention on the Rights of the Child]. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty that was adopted by the United Nations in 1989, which is currently ratified by 187 nations. It is in this treaty that states the rights children have in being protected from economic and sexual exploitation, and the obligation of individual nations to "take all appropriative legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect...child[ren] from all forms of…abuse." With participants from 119 countries, the association pursues to raise awareness about the global nature of the problem of sexual exploitation of children and mobilize international action. This then resulted to a unanimous adoption by all Congress attendees of the Agenda for Action which is a document written for the measures to implement global cooperation and facilitation in preventing sexual abuse and developing protection of vulnerable youth. Legislation has been created and efforts are ongoing in addressing the sexual exploitation of children. ([|Global Concern for Children's Rights: The World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation]). However, the United Nations aren't the only ones to be addressing the issues of sexual exploited children. There are also many NGOs that are involved with the prevention of such activities. = = = Works Cited =

“Fact Sheet: Child Labour.” Human Rights: Child Labour. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2012 “Global Concern for Children's Rights: The World Congress against Sexual Exploitation” Special Report: International Family Planning Perspectives. 1997. ..... Web. 20 Mar. 2012 “Global Issues: Child Trafficking.” Human Rights: Child Trafficking. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012 “International Trade and Child Labor: Cross-Country Evidence.” Analysis: International Trade and Child Labor. 2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2012 “Press: Child Sexual Exploitation.” Press: Sexual Exploitation of Children. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2012 “Press Release: UNICEF Calls for Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.” Press: Calling for Eradication of Commercial Sexual ..... Exploitation of Children. 2001. Web. 20 Mar. 2012