Commercial Sexual Exploitation

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a worldwide issue that most governments pay little attention to, including the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government. CSEC occurs when individuals buy, trade, or sell sexual acts with a child. There are three primary and interrelated forms of CSEC and they are ‘prostitution, pornography and trafficking for sexual purposes’. This commercial sex industry victimizes girls, boys and transgendered youth whose ages are below eighteen.

In 2011, a research work was conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on children in commercial sexual exploitation in Port Moresby and from that research; a survey was established revealing that there were an increasing number of children involved

It was once mentioned on an online article that the demand for child sex workers are usually higher than any other adult sex workers because, the perpetrators are often under less risk of contracting HIV/AIDs from children, however, the children instead are left in great danger of contracting this deadly virus.

Moving on, child prostitution also causes long-term psychological harm, including anxiety, depression and behavioural disorders. The child may constantly feel worry, nervous or uneasy about something that they are unsure of its possible outcome which may lead them to have weird behaviours. Moments spent in this sexual industry will always haunt there memories even after they leave the industry. All these psychological harm can put the child’s life in danger of self-harm, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Moreover, prostituted children are at a high risk of enduring injuries and violence. They may be physically and emotionally abused into submission by the perpetrators. In most cases, girls fall pregnant and are often forced to ‘induce miscarriage’ which is an abortion performed by the pregnant girl herself outside the recognized medical system. From research done, I have found out that most of these perpetrators are local business man, land owners and basically, men with a lot of money and less

Department of State, Diplomacy in Action (2014), it was stated that ‘in urban areas of PNG, there have been reports of parents prostituting their children directly or in brothels as a mean to support their families or to pay for school fees. The bottom reason for almost all children that are involved in the commercial sexual industry is money as nowadays life in the city is hard and in order for one to survive in the city, he or she must at least have money or else, there’s no need for them to roam around in the city, rather go back to the village and make garden.

I personally think that the PNG government should take this matter seriously and work hand in hand with the NGOs to come up with brilliant ways in which this problem can be reduced or completely eradicated. Prostitution was criminalized in PNG in the early 20th century by the colonial governments of Queensland and Australia, however, little has been done to people who are entertaining this CSEC and making money out of it in today’s societies. These people deserved to be heavily