Child exploitation occurs all over the world, and for many different reasons. UNICEF believes that the overwhelming majority of countries have instances of (often unacknowledged) child exploitation – either through underage employment, or through more serious cases of abuse. The scary truth is that the UK has a serious problem with child exploitation – through the child sex trade and forced prostitution, and forced labour in homes, restaurants, factories and farms. These children are denied the rights to attend school, may be separated from their families and friends, and have no real hopes for the future. Although some of the more dangerous forms of child exploitation occur outside of the UK – in developing countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa where labour is cheap and people do the jobs usually reserved for machines and factories – there is still a significant problem within the UK which needs to be corrected. Unfortunately it was not until 2003 that the UK passed the Sexual Offences Act and 2004 that the Asylum and Immigration Act was passed. This shows clearly that the problem has only recently become more obvious to the wider community.
It is difficult for many people to understand why child exploitation occurs, and why it happens in successful, ‘advanced’ nations such as the UK. The majority of the reasons for exploitation are related to money – children provide cheap and obedient labour, and are small and can thus carry out difficult or unusual jobs. If the children are working to support their family they may be carrying out menial rural or industrial jobs which earn very little. If the children have been trafficked or are forced into labour against their will, they may not be paid at all – and their traffickers may be awarded fees for their use. Child exploitation is unfortunately big business, and this is one of the reasons why it continues into the twenty-first century.
It is difficult for many people to understand why child exploitation occurs, and why it happens in successful, ‘advanced’ nations such as the UK. The majority of the reasons for exploitation are related to money – children provide cheap and obedient labour, and are small and can thus carry out difficult or unusual jobs. If the children are working to support their family they may be carrying out menial rural or industrial jobs which earn very little. If the children have been trafficked or are forced into labour against their will, they may not be paid at all – and their traffickers may be awarded fees for their use. Child exploitation is unfortunately big business, and this is one of the reasons why it continues into the twenty-first century.