Child Trafficking: A Trans-Border Journey from Hope to Hopelessness
Oluyemisi Bamgbose, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Child trafficking remains a serious
problem in the world today. It is the one of the most important sources
of child exploitation and abuse in the world today. It is a major concern
both at the national and international levels.
African countries generally and Nigeria in particular are source, transit
and destination routes for trafficking for commercial and sexual exploitation
of children to Europe. Organized syndicates from different countries
control this. The increase in this brutal form of violence against
children is due to many factors, which include the internationalization
of sex tourism.
A process of socialization under the African culture, whereby children,
usually from rural areas are taken to urban cities to live with wealthier
family members with a hope of a better life have been bastardized.
This form of social responsibility has become an avenue for trafficking
to use children for economic gain and a state of hopelessness for such
children.
Trafficking in persons especially children is a complex and challenging
human rights issue. It is an organized crime that cuts across borders:
With the numerous effects of child trafficking, if care is not taken,
it may eat deeply into the fabrics of such nation and destroy it. The
transnational character means that global network must be in place
to suppress this problem.
This paper addresses this trans-border crime, its effect, and global
efforts to suppress it.
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