Male and gender diverse child victims of sexual exploitation need better support and understanding, says a new report
A new report uncovers a critical knowledge gap on male victims of sexual exploitation, Anti-Trafficking Review publishes a Special Issue on trafficking in minors, and Australia examines its modern slavery laws over fears of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
A knowledge gap concerning the sexual exploitation of boys is preventing victims from accessing the support they need, according to a new report by ECPAT International. Current research tends to focus on girls, but this new study indicates that boys are much more impacted than commonly thought. The situation for those who identify with diverse sexual orientation or gender identity tends to be even worse.
In its new report, ECPAT shines a light on boys engaging in their own sexual exploitation by selling sex in Thailand. The study, which launches today, reveals a big knowledge gap amongst frontline welfare service providers, as well as problematic beliefs and attitudes about male and gender diverse child victims, systematic victim-blaming, and an urgent need to adjust support services to fit boy survivors’ needs.
Last year, ECPAT talked with 20 young people of “diverse SOGIE” (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression) who are exchanging sex for payment, to learn what their life is like. In this group, 11 young people identified as male, six called themselves “ladyboys”, two identified as trans women, and one as “gender of the alternative”. They were between 15 and 24 years old, and the majority had migrated to cities from rural provinces and had been exchanging sex for more than a year – around half had started doing so while still children. The team at ECPAT also wanted to understand welfare service providers’ attitudes to working with boys and talked to 65 frontline workers in Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Pattaya.
The causes, risk factors and consequences of this exploitation, and the needs of boys who are sexually exploited, are many and complex. Through their study, the researchers found that welfare service providers and the youth themselves do not always share the same ideas or understanding of the issue.
For instance, welfare workers listed exposure to adult pornography and children’s access to the internet as common risk factors for sexual exploitation, while young people did not see those things as contributing to their likely victimization. ECPAT points out that while it is known that easy access to adult pornography can normalize early sexual engagement, its impact should be critically considered. Although it is common for perpetrators to share pornography and child sexual abuse content in order to normalize sex for the children they are trying to groom, assuming a causal link between young people watching adult pornography and being sexually exploited by adult perpetrators is at best inaccurate and at worst a form of victim-blaming. Suggesting that a child viewing pornography could somehow cause their exploitation by adults is wrong, says the group.
In fact, the young people interviewed said family poverty, familial violence, rejection and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity were the most common factors that drove them into trading sex for survival. They also said that the support services they needed were not the services they received. Economic support was, for example, the least available service. Most services are not equipped to support boys, and many of the frontline workers interviewed for the research mentioned the need for skills training as they struggle with “engaging boys” and “providing confidentiality” through their work.
ECPAT’s report includes a long list of recommendations to properly address the sexual exploitation of boys and SOGIE-identifying youth.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The latest Special Issue of Anti-Trafficking Review, published last week, focuses on the phenomenon of trafficking in minors in different contexts and from a variety of perspectives. These include its relationship to child labour and adolescent migration, online sexual exploitation, and commercial gestational surrogacy, as well as lesser-known manifestations, such as the trafficking of children for exploitation in criminal activities.
The Australian government has left the door open to toughening up the nation’s laws against modern slavery amid concerns about human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. Uighur community representatives said the government had been too slow to respond to these abuses because of fears of trade sanctions.
A new study looks at the sheltering and detention of trafficking victims in the ASEAN region and offers insights into the complex balance between the rights of these victims (including to freedom of movement and liberty) and the sometimes competing interests of other stakeholders.
WePROTECT Global Alliance’s new guidance note, Implementing the Global Strategic Response to Eliminate Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Online, sets out objectives and provides a comprehensive global strategy to eliminate child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The document identifies six themes that are necessary to frame the response to CSEA online in particular, and details 26 capabilities which break down the themes into manageable areas for a wide range of relevant stakeholders.
Encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram provide cover for child sexual abuse in Cambodia and serve as the entry point for pedophiles to access sexually explicit content involving minors, according to Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE). Investigations are difficult, as private groups on these platforms operate in a legal gray area and undercover investigations into sexual abuse cases are forbidden under Cambodian law.
Taking children from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal and forcing them to beg on the streets has reportedly become the most visible form of human trafficking in both countries. A new policy brief examines how the criminal industry of child begging in West Africa is organized and highlights the need for greater information sharing between agencies across borders.
One of our community members, Liluye, is currently seeking interested and motivated individuals for its board of trustees. Liluye creates innovative, sustainable, ethnic handmade products to help survivors reintegrate into society through training and income generation.
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