This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
A new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, saysmillions of children are forced to become sex workers every year.Most of the victims are girls. Officials say they hope the reportwill increase public concern about the problem and lead togovernment action.
The study is called “Profiting from Abuse.” It tells about thesex trade in countries including India, Thailand, West Africa andEastern and Central Europe. The report says that in Colombia andSierra Leone, girls as young as twelve are forced to have sex witharmed soldiers in an effort to defend their families.
UNICEF says children in the sex trade suffer from sexual,physical and emotional problems that can last a lifetime. They alsosuffer from diseases passed through sex. And they may suffer fromsocial dishonor and rejection by their families. The study foundthat some of the causes for the child sex trade include poor livingconditions, the illegal drug trade and organized crime.
UNICEF released the study last month before an internationalconference in Yokohama, Japan, on the issue. It was called TheSecond World Conference Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation ofChildren.
UNICEF Executive Director CarolBellamy told the conference that the child sex trade is a form ofterrorism. She said it uses children most at risk, such as refugees,war victims and children without parents.Mizz Bellamy said the sextrade continues even though more than one-hundred-ninety countriesapproved a historic United Nations agreement protecting the rightsof children.
Delegates at the four-day conference in Yokohama approved a planto fight the child sex trade. They called for increasedcommunication among governments, police and legal officials. Theyalso urged countries to put stronger laws into effect and to approveinternational agreements to protect children.
More than three-thousand delegates from more thanone-hundred-thirty countries and private organizations attended theconference. Young victims of sexual abuse also attended. The firstinternational conference on the problem was held in Stockholm,Sweden five years ago.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.