Are children being forced into sexual slavery? It's an explosive question, and the bad news tonight is that the answer is yes. Today the National Committee for Families and Children presented the results of a study looking at the problem of sexual exploitation facing children and adolescents in Belize. The study was commissioned by the International Labour Organization. Belize was selected as a second phase of a broader program by the ILO that looks at the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the Central American region and parts of the Caribbean. Diane Haylock of ISIS Enterprises Limited who conducted the study explained that while they can't say with certainty how many are affected, they can say that it is happening.
Diane Haylock,
"One cannot say what the prevalence is from the study but the study is definitely saying that there is a problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Belize. And when we talk about children, we need to understand that the legal definition of children means any person under the age of 18; so from 17 downwards is considered a child. And based on the various people that we interviewed through these surveys and one on one interviews, there is a broad base perception that there is a problem of commercial sex exploitation of children in Belize.
What the study done is apart from putting together the findings of the study, it also provides a comprehensive list of recommendations that the government, primarily, is intended to carry out. But of course it has to be done in partnership with civil society, as well as the private sector and the community at large."
After today's launching the child labour subcommittee of the NCFC held a workshop to develop a strategy to deal with the problem.
