Child Sexual Exploitation

Definition and Forms

• Child sexual exploitation: The abuse and exploitation of a child for sexual purposes, often involving physical or emotional harm.
• Forms of child sexual exploitation:
  • Sexual abuse: Touching, fondling, or other sexual acts with a child.
  • Sexual exploitation: Using a child for sexual purposes, such as child pornography or prostitution.
  • Trafficking: The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, especially women and children, by means of threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power for the purpose of exploitation.

Perpetrators and Victims

• Perpetrators:
  • Often known to the child, such as family members, caregivers, or acquaintances.
  • May use manipulation, coercion, or violence to exploit the child.
• Victims:
  • Can be any child, regardless of age, gender, or socioeconomic status.
  • May experience physical and emotional harm, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Online Exploitation

• Online platforms and social media can facilitate child sexual exploitation.
• Forms of online exploitation:
  • Child pornography: Production, distribution, and possession of sexual images or videos of children.
  • Grooming: Building a relationship with a child online, often for sexual exploitation.
  • Sextortion: Coercing a child into producing sexual content or engaging in sexual acts.

Prevention and Intervention

• Prevention strategies:
  • Educating children about appropriate boundaries and online safety.
  • Implementing policies and laws to prevent child sexual exploitation.
• Intervention strategies:
  • Reporting suspected cases to authorities.
  • Providing support and counseling for victims.
  • Holding perpetrators accountable through legal action.

International Response

• International agreements and laws:
  • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  • International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
• Global initiatives:
  • International Justice Mission (IJM): Works to protect children from exploitation and trafficking.
  • UNICEF: Works to prevent and respond to child sexual exploitation.