Child trafficking

Everyday, children are being trafficked for cheap labour.

It is estimated that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.

In the world’s poorest countries, around 250 million children between the ages of five and 14 are working. Many of them have been trafficked.

Each day, there are children all over the world being tricked, kidnapped, lured and sent into child labour, combat or the sex industry.

Trafficking is the recruitment, transport and transfer of children, through abduction, deception or force, in order to exploit them in some way. The most common forms of exploitation are sexual exploitation, including prostitution, and cheap labour working in mines and factories.

Children are often trafficked because they or their families desperately need to earn money, but have few or no other opportunities to do so. Traffickers take advantage of the situation and make lucrative profits from vulnerable children who can easily be tricked or forced.

Thailand: the situation

Thailand is ranked 73rd out of 177 countries in the Human Development Index, a global measure of the development level of countries. Compared with most of its surrounding neighbours, this translates to a relatively high quality of life.

This relative prosperity becomes an attraction for many people in Laos and Myanmar who live in poverty. As a result, trafficking of humans is rampant on the Thai border.

Trafficking and exploitation across borders often targets the most vulnerable, especially children, who are lured by the prospect of a better life.

How your monthly contribution helps

Your support helps to carry out activities to reduce the incidence of trafficking among children, including:

• Developing community and youth services that provide social networks of care and support.
• Increasing protection services especially for children.