CHILD Protection & Rights > Child Protection Issues.

What are the factors that make children vulnerable?

- Economic factors
Poverty frequently forces vulnerable children to turn to hazardous work. However, if it is often cited as a major reason responsible for trafficking in children, poverty is not the only cause. Loss of traditional sources of livelihood, growing unemployment, forced migration or growing consumerism resulting from globalization have all contributed to the increase in child trafficking. The socio-economic situation and geographical location of the family add to the vulnerability.

- Demand for cheap labor and exploitative sex
Trafficking and the existing demand for exploitative labor and sexual services are inexorably linked. The drive for rising profits too often trumps ethics, resulting in children being exploited in factories and sweatshops. These attitudes are reinforced when men or women are allowed to sexually exploit without facing any repercussions or punishment.

- Children without caregivers
Children who are without caregivers are extremely vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Parents provide an essential safety net for their offspring. Orphans or children separated from their parents due to poverty, armed conflict, violence or migration may live with more distant relatives or a foster family. Children who grow up in institutions often lack ties to community as well as opportunities and so may be more at risk. Assessments by the International Labor Organization have found that orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in domestic service, commercial sex, commercial agriculture or as street vendors. Without guidance, a sense of belonging or opportunities, they may be at an increased risk of trafficking.

- Traditions and cultural values
The legal and social inequality of women and girls is a breeding ground for trafficking. Where women and girls are objectified and seen as commodities, a climate is created in which girls can be bought and sold. Underlying attitudes about male entitlement can foster a perverse notion that it is acceptable for men to traffic and sexually exploit children and women.
The ‘traditional placements’ of children in families of distant relatives or friends have also mutated into a system motivated by economic objectives. For many, migrating or seeking jobs outside their community is not just an economic decision; it may be a quest to find personal freedom, better living conditions or a means to support their families.

- Low school enrolment
School enrollment is a critical factor in the fight against trafficking. Uneducated children have few opportunities for their future, and are therefore more vulnerable to traffickers’ promises of money and a ‘better life’. School can also provide a haven to keep children off the streets. Additionally, most prevention messages are aimed to children who can read, placing illiterate children at a disadvantage.

- Lack of birth registration
Children who are not registered are more susceptible to trafficking. When children are without a legal identity it is easier for traffickers to ‘hide’ them. It is also more difficult to trace and monitor disappearances.
In addition, without a birth certificate, it is difficult to confirm the child’s age and hold traffickers accountable. Lack of identification may mean that children who are trafficked between countries cannot be traced to their country of origin and are thus not easily returned to their communities.

- Humanitarian disasters and armed conflict
Humanitarian disasters often leave children unaccompanied. Cataclysmic events that disrupt livelihoods or result in the death of one or both parents make children vulnerable to trafficking. These crises create chaos and a breakdown of law enforcement, which decreases the likelihood of traffickers facing legal consequences.
During conflicts, children are also more vulnerable to sexually abuse, abduction by armed groups or forced participation in hostilities. Conflicts contribute to porous borders, increasing traffickers’ ability to transport people. The influx of international workers may also increase sexual exploitation and trafficking. There is increasing evidence documenting sexual exploitation by humanitarian workers and the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been correlated with escalating child prostitution.

Unless these underlying causes are addressed, the more direct measures to stop trafficking will have limited success.

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