Conflict and poor law enforcement contribute to an increasing number of child prostitutes in Juba, South Sudan. Juba, South Sudan - Child prostitution in Juba continues to rise as an increasing number of unaccompanied minors and street children risk getting trafficked or abused , due to the country ' s most recent conflict.
Like many other girls, she was introduced to prostitution by friends. Up to girls out of Juba's estimated 3, street children could be engaged in child prostitution. A survey conducted in September by Confident Children out of Conflict CCC and the French embassy found that 31 percent of street girls surveyed were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Lots of children have lost family support and are at greater risk of being exploited," a US embassy official told Al Jazeera.
Young South Sudanese girls started to fill the void in a growing market, partly fuelled by the increased presence of soldiers around Juba, aid agencies say. The breakdown of traditional family structures during the war, neglect and abuse often precede child prostitution.
Cathy Groenendijk, Director of Confident Children out of Conflict, explains that internally displaced or returnee children who have lost their parents or whose parents are unable to care for them find their situation particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. They start selling plastic bottles or polishing shoes.
As the girls get older, 12 and upwards, many enter commercial sex work, " Groenendijk said. As such, the brothels constitute a lucrative business for their owners, especially in light of the recent economic downturn. Then they keep them in houses, get clients for them and keep the money," an aid agency official who spoke on condition of confidentiality told Al Jazeera.
