Posted on Wednesday 9 June 2010 - 15:57Solomon Tembang Mforgham, AfricaNews reporter in Limbe, Cameroon
A study carried out by a coalition of over 20 civil society organisations known in French as "Coalition Protegions nos enfants" has revealed that over 4000 children between the ages of 9-13 years in Cameroon are victims of child trafficking for sexual gains.
The report of the study presented to the press in a public show in Yaoundé on 1 June 2010 revealed that these 4000 girls are victims exploited by 336 people in a network which pays about FCFA 12 million ($22,049) a day.
It paints the picture of one of the most distressing societal ills and human rights abuses in the country and brings to glare the extent to which abject poverty can push parents to blight the lives of their children.
The study equally shows the involvement of neighbouring countries like Chad, Nigeria, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Niger but preponderantly depicts Cameroon as being the host, consumer and transit country to these macabre activities especially as it is the economic giant in the Central African region.
It shows that the geographical position of Cameroon in the Central African region makes it favourable for child trafficking for sexual abuse to thrive in the area, thus making the country ideal as a transit zone for such children coming from other countries like Chad, Central African Republic into Nigeria not leaving out those transiting to Belgium, France and Switzerland.
According to the report, the region with the highest rate of sexually exploited children is the North West followed by the North and West regions. The traffickers, the study revealed, mostly find the children in parks and markets then put them in the networks usually far from their homes, promising them a better future. These children are pushed by poverty and poor living conditions.
The study also revealed that some of these children have sex with three clients a day, most often unprotected sex thus rendering them vulnerable to STD’s and HIV. The clients, it revealed, are men of all ages even 60 year olds.
It would be recalled that recently the police intercepted a suspected case of children trafficking in Muyuka in the South West region of Cameroon by somebody who was supposed to be pastor of a Pentecostal church.
He was intercepted with over 20 children in his car and claimed he was taking them to an orphanage in Buea. Yet he had no document authorising him to carry on with such errands.
Child trafficking is punishable in Cameroon with 5-10 years imprisonment and fines from FCFA 10,000 ($18.4) to FCFA 1 million ($1,837).
It paints the picture of one of the most distressing societal ills and human rights abuses in the country and brings to glare the extent to which abject poverty can push parents to blight the lives of their children.
The study equally shows the involvement of neighbouring countries like Chad, Nigeria, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Niger but preponderantly depicts Cameroon as being the host, consumer and transit country to these macabre activities especially as it is the economic giant in the Central African region.
It shows that the geographical position of Cameroon in the Central African region makes it favourable for child trafficking for sexual abuse to thrive in the area, thus making the country ideal as a transit zone for such children coming from other countries like Chad, Central African Republic into Nigeria not leaving out those transiting to Belgium, France and Switzerland.
According to the report, the region with the highest rate of sexually exploited children is the North West followed by the North and West regions. The traffickers, the study revealed, mostly find the children in parks and markets then put them in the networks usually far from their homes, promising them a better future. These children are pushed by poverty and poor living conditions.
The study also revealed that some of these children have sex with three clients a day, most often unprotected sex thus rendering them vulnerable to STD’s and HIV. The clients, it revealed, are men of all ages even 60 year olds.
It would be recalled that recently the police intercepted a suspected case of children trafficking in Muyuka in the South West region of Cameroon by somebody who was supposed to be pastor of a Pentecostal church.
He was intercepted with over 20 children in his car and claimed he was taking them to an orphanage in Buea. Yet he had no document authorising him to carry on with such errands.
Child trafficking is punishable in Cameroon with 5-10 years imprisonment and fines from FCFA 10,000 ($18.4) to FCFA 1 million ($1,837).
