By Mabinty M. Kamara
The latest report from the African Programming & Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES) at the University of Georgia's Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach (CenHTRO) has revealed an increase in child trafficking in the border district of Kambia in the North Western region of Sierra Leone.
The report says an estimated 34% of children aged 5 to 17 in Sierra Leone’s border District have experienced child trafficking and 46,794 children (40.06%) have experienced child labour.
“One-year direct prevalence estimates (2020) for child trafficking in Kambia indicated that among the household sample of children aged 5 – 17 years old: 39,155 children (33.52%) are estimated to have experienced trafficking in the last year,” it reads.
The report added that One-year direct prevalence estimates for child labor (2020), encompass child trafficking but also include other forms of labour exploitation among others.
The report also revealed a high prevalence of children (36.6%, 238 children) who experienced trafficking both within hazardous labor sectors and outside of hazardous labour sectors.
Only a small number of children were reported to be trafficked exclusively in hazardous labour sectors (0.6%, 3 children), while the majority of children experienced trafficking within other labour sectors (62.1%, 404 children).
The report noted portering at 24.27% and fishing at 13.67% are among the prevalent hazardous labours.
“For trafficked children in the surveyed households, commercial sex 0.46% was found to be the least prevalent hazardous labour sector, followed by manufacturing1.23%, mining/quarrying 2.30%, and construction4.76%.”
It added that the most prevalent other labour sectors were domestic work (95.9%), agriculture (75.9%), and trading or vending (51.5%).
In the highlighted cases, children experienced trafficking due to involvement in hazardous working conditions or force, fraud, or coercion.
The report stated that exposure to extreme cold/heat/humidity 46.85%, carrying heavy loads 46.39%, operating heavy machinery/working with dangerous tools 13.52%, and exposure to dust, fumes or gases 9.83% are the three most reported hazardous working conditions.
As part of recommendations to address the situation in the district and across the country, the report called for strengthened and expanded developmental programmes, especially in rural towns, through building more and improving access to secondary and primary schools, investing in qualified teachers, and expanding social and community centers for youth.
The research was funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
The report according to the researchers is an extension of existing research on the same topic in Kenema, Kailahun, and Kono in Eastern Sierra Leone which indicated that the rate of child trafficking in 2019-2020 in the province based on household survey was estimated to be 33%. Overall, in the three hotspot districts, 45.7% of children in Kono, 32.9% of children in Kailahun, and 26.6% of children in Kenema were estimated to have experienced trafficking.
“Our data indicates that 52% of the children aged five to seventeen in Kono, 41.4% in Kailahun, and 35% in Kenema perform work that is classified as child labour,” it stated.
Though community members strongly condemned child trafficking, the report noted that child labour was generally viewed less negatively by respondents, as children were expected to perform many domestic duties which aligned with gendered and age-specific expectations and work scheduled around school hours.
Sierra Leone’s Parliament in 2022 enacted an Act to regulate and punish perpetrators of Human Trafficking named the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant smuggling Act.
Copyright © Politico (21/07/23)
