Global Child Prostitution Crisis Surges: Demand Up, Ages Down
With a life increasingly built upon seeking the approval and status of the upper class, we seem to have forgotten the fundamental meaning of existence. Be it negligence, self-indulgence, excessive spending or ambivalence, we are all faulty for losing touch of reality and for failing to answer the cries of our future generation. Over 2 million children are forced in child prostitution every year. Despite this shocking amount there has been no real counter-effective action from governments and the numbers still show a cumulative curve.
Aneta was 17 when her ordeal began. She was promised a job as an au pair to an affluent family when she decided to leave her Czech village and cross borders. She was recruited by Petr, a handsome man who promised that she would travel with them to London or even America. "You'll get to practice your English," he joked. The next day Aneta joined ten other local girls who handed over their passports and followed Petr into a life of ruins and defilement. Hours later instead of being welcomed by smiling families, they were greeted by a group of burly men who possessed guns and savage dogs. The girls, some of them as young as 14, were then forced into a room, stripped naked and pushed into a line. The men moved up and down, along the line and handled the girls roughly. They inspected their teeth, breasts and the areas between their legs. “We were just horseflesh” Aneta recalled. Each girl was flung across the room and gang raped. Within the next few days all of them were smuggled across Europe to work in brothels.In May 2005 the gendarme in Yaounde scattered a prostitution ring that had recruited young boys who were claimed to be there for soccer training. The boys were promised the opportunity to play in prestigious clubs across Europe but ended up sported into child prostitution. From the five members of the organization (composing of five members), three were caught and the other two went into hiding.
In Singapore an increasing number of girls offer sexual intercourse upon Internet chat-rooms. Although the situation is less dire than in Japan, social workers cite cases of girls as young as 13 having no qualms over substituting paid sex for household pocket money.In generic terms child prostitution means the use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form of consideration, including food, housing, drugs or other commodities or intangibles such as approval or care. It is an ancient and global problem. Child prostitution can be found in both developed and developing countries. Be it voluntary or coercive, the rise of child prostitution shows a reflection of how society’s morals have degenerated and how the possession of money, authority or power can be abused to cause destruction.
It is almost impossible to stem out this societal problem because of an overlap of certain factors and other discrepancies. Voluntary willingness from children to exchange sex for tangible benefits, reflect a society where the sanctity of the physical intimacy has been torn apart by our very own assets. On the other hand menacing behavior on part of the perpetrators, expose the degradation of society’s morality.We can only hope that stricter governmental protection can be implemented for children, so that they are educated and hence protected from devious individuals. In a world increasingly being defined by power, authority and money, any excesses will just spark the beginnings of a collapse in morals.
So, what was the most awful experience you had when you were 10 years old?
By Jacob Toh. Submit your thoughts - click here!
