Child trafficking is a crime that affects girls and boys all over the world. Any form of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of children, women and men, for the purpose of exploitation, is a violation of their rights, well-being and potential.
The invisible and clandestine nature of trafficking make it difficult to have precise figures. However, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that internationally, 980,000 to 1,225,000 children – both boys and girls – are in a forced labour situation as a result of trafficking.
Trafficked children and adolescents are subjected to prostitution, forced into marriage and are illegally adopted. They provide cheap or unpaid labour, work as house servants or beggars; recruited into armed forces and used for sports. Child trafficking occurs because there is a demand for children in the labor force, in the sex trade and for illegal adoptions. The trafficking of children is tragically a thriving business.
Full story: http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/275739
