Ecpat: Child Sex Abuse And Social Customs [Study]
January 30, 2003 ·
A recent report released by the Bangkok-based international child protection campaign group, ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), found that socially accepted customs are being used to shelter child sexual abuse in various countries.
The report highlights that though child marriages are unlawful in many countries, they are rampant in most parts of South Asia and the Middle East. This form of child abuse which allows elder men to have sex with young children under the name of marriage is acceptable in most societies where parents are keen on getting rid of their girl children at a young age. In a lot of the cases, young girls are forced to have sex sex with older men under the name of marriage and are later abandoned.
Another form of child abuse that is rampant but least talked about is the use of underage boys as homosexual prostitutes in various parts of South Asia, particularly in Pakistan. The report states that children caught in this situation cannot escape from it nor can they approach the police for assistance because they are considered social outcasts.
The report also mentions that the internet has played an active role in the increase of child pornography and prostitution. Pornography material is available freely on the internet and most pimps now have their own website through which they advertise and promote child prostitution.
