This recently surfaced report paints a terrible picture of humanitarian aid in Africa gone bad. One wonders if so-called charity work is not an outlet for bona fide sex tourists trying to fly under the radar. What's worse, is that they, the government, have sat on many of the details for 16 years. It's only now been published in its entirety for the first time. The basic upshot of that is - this was allowed to continue unchecked...
Key Findings:
- Sexual exploitation of refugee children in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone
is very extensive.
- It mainly takes the form of casual informal encounters between the
exploiter and the child.
- Organised prostitution is also found in some camps with pimps targeting
adolescent girls.
Men are the principal sex exploiters. A few reports of female sex exploiters
were documented.
- Girls are the principal targets of sexual exploitation. A few reports of boys being sexually exploited by women were documented, and no reports of boys being sexually exploited by men were received at all. This is not to say that the sexual exploitation of boys by men or women is not more prevalent than appeared. The socio-cultural environment is not conducive to such reporting. In addition, it should also be noted that other forms of exploitation, in particular in the labour market, were found to be a common experience among boys in the region.
- The age of the girls in question is mostly between 13-18 with the youngest
reported case being five years of age. The few boys reported to be exploited were in the age range 17-22.
- Especially vulnerable groups included girls from single parent/adult households, separated and unaccompanied children (perhaps living with foster parents or relatives unable to provide adequate care e.g. elderly grandparents, uncles, and aunts), children from child-headed households, orphans, girls who are street traders/or whose mothers are street traders.
- Children are abused in other ways too, for instance some children are used as intermediaries, “pimps” almost, acting as the link between the girl and the exploiter.
Who are the sex exploiters?
The exploiters are mainly men in the community with power and money
including:
- Agency workers from local and international NGOs as well as UN agencies are among the prime sexual exploiters of refugee children often using the very humanitarian assistance and services intended to benefit refugees as a tool of exploitation. Male national staff were reported to trade humanitarian commodities and services, including
medication, oil, bulgur wheat, plastic sheeting, education courses, skills-training, school supplies etc., in exchange for sex with girls under 18. The practice appeared particularly pronounced in locations with significant and established aid programmes. There was compelling evidence of a chronic and entrenched pattern of this type of abuse in
refugee camps in Guinea and Liberia in particular.
- Allegations were documented against a wide range of organisations and individuals as they emerged, unexpectedly but systematically, during the course of the study. These allegations require further investigation as the assessment team was not in a position to verify this information given the broader scope of its work and the shortage of time available for this particular issue. The number of allegations documented, however, is a critical indicator of the scale of this problem as altogether 42 agencies and 67 individuals were implicated in this behaviour. The breakdown of these figures by country is as follows: Liberia -11 agencies and 26 individuals; Sierra Leone -13 agencies and 24 individuals: Guinea -18 agencies and 17 individuals. Confidential lists detailing these allegations were submitted to UNHCR as the mission was ongoing. This information is derived from discussions and interviews with approximately 80 separate sources comprising of both groups and individuals.
- Security and military forces including international and regional peacekeepers, national forces and police units are another significant category of exploiters. UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone are alleged to be extensively involved in the sexual exploitation of children with the assessment team recording allegations against UNAMSIL peacekeepers from nine countries. Details of these allegations, which also require verification, have likewise been submitted to UNHCR.
- Teachers both from government establishments and agency-run education programmes.
- Camp leaders and other influential people in the community such as religious leaders.
- Small businessmen and traders
- Men with jobs - depending on local economy this might include
diamond miners, palm wine tapers, plantation workers etc
More at full report: https://web.archive.org/web/20180719...20Children.pdf
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UK Parliament Publishes Full 2002 UN Report On Sex For Aid In West Africa
07/28/2018
A groundbreaking United Nations report compiled in 2002 never saw the full light of day, until now. The UK Parliament recently published the entire document, which details the sexual exploitation of refugee children by those distributing "humanitarian aid," as well as peacekeepers and personnel in positions of power in crisis-affected areas.
The UNHCR report recounts the multitude of methods by which children are exploited, including the manipulation of humanitarian services, food, employment, personal resources, and other means. The study tells us clearly that those in positions of greatest power - for example, those working with disabled children - were often the most horrifically abusive.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...id-west-africa