Author: Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD)
This phenomenon, which affects a large number of girls, is difficult to quantify because they are so invisible to their exploiters. What’s more, the weakness of the mechanisms in charge of tracking them makes it impossible to obtain figures commensurate with the representation of the phenomenon within the West African region.
So how is it possible that under-age girls can be forced to sell their bodies in societies that emphasize the importance of respecting morals within the family unit?
Are they deprived of their rights?
Who should we blame: families or state institutions that fail to guarantee their safety?
If we had to answer fairly, the answer would be both.
The sexual exploitation of young girls, a trafficking phenomenon :
Children are subject to various types of exploitation, especially girls, who are the most vulnerable. However, sexual exploitation is one of the most widespread practices in the world. These facts should be considered as trafficking according to article 3-A of the Palermo Protocol in international law. This article defines trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use
force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, and of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits in kind”. Trafficking in minors has a number of special features, however, as the act and purpose of exploitation in minors, unlike in adults, does not require consideration of the means used, such as force, coercion, blackmail or deception. As soon as a young girl is a presumed victim of the offence, and has undergone the act (transportation, etc.) and the aim (exploitation), she must be classified as a victim of trafficking. In all cases, the child’s consent is irrelevant, as her minority constitutes her vulnerability.
The role of the family unit:
While it’s easy to characterize the acts of violence to which many young girls are subjected, it’s essential to consider the context in which these practices originate. In fact, the trafficking of these girls is generally a collective project, motivated by the family unit, be it the mother, father, aunt or other close relative. This actively helps to curb the practice. The latter encourage young girls to sell their bodies in order to support the family. Even if in the majority of cases it is used as a survival strategy for these families.
Factors encouraging these practices :
Lack of schooling and education: the lack of knowledge about the harmful impact on girls’ psychology and bodies is very prevalent among poorly educated and schooled populations, especially in remote villages where the young girls who are exploited often come from.
Precariousness: lack of resources and family poverty are primary factors in the development of prostitution and trafficking in young girls.
The migration context: during the overland crossing to North African countries, girls and women are particularly prone to danger and violence. According to Michèle Bombassei, IOM’s specialist in migrant protection and assistance, “the vulnerability of migrants increases as their journey progresses, particularly for women travelling alone”.
Ineffective laws and protocols:
Benin has ratified a number of international conventions protecting minors from sexual exploitation. In 1990, it acceded to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the early 2000s, several other conventions were ratified, including the ILO’s Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, and the Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, aimed at punishing acts of trafficking in persons, particularly women and children. In 2005, Benin committed to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Article 21 of Law 2006-04, which governs the movement of minors and the repression of child trafficking, provides for penalties ranging from 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment for trafficking in children for sexual purposes. However, these penalties are rarely applied, despite the scale of the phenomenon. Civil society and NGOs therefore have an essential role to play in enforcing these rights and provisions.
It is essential to conceive of the phenomenon of trafficking as a system, and this implies thinking of its eradication through a collective and effective process based on the following three pillars:
RECOGNITION
IDENTIFICATION
CARE
What can be improved?
Protection
Coordination
Cooperation
RECOMMENDATIONS
The multiplication of actions carried out by NGOs to contribute to the visibility of the phenomenon of child sex trafficking and exploitation.
Raising awareness among families, particularly in disadvantaged villages, of the harmful effects of these practices on the bodies and psychology of the young girls concerned.
Advocacy with the actors in charge of ensuring their protection, (Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry for the Promotion of Women).
Renewal of national action plans for child protection (such as the 2008 plan in Benin).
Training for magistrates and those in charge of tracking children, such as the Central Office for the Protection of Minors (OCPM), on the importance of punishing exploiters.
Strengthening institutional and community mechanisms and networks for the protection of migrant children at national and regional levels
Support regional cooperation between West African states to provide support and care for young people in situations of trafficking.
The creation of an infrastructure in West African states to collect victims and provide them with comprehensive care, thanks to the provision of a framework of actors: social and medical/pedo-psychiatrists working with victims.
