The trafficking of children for purposes of sexual exploitation

nationals, such as immigrants and refugees will be reviewed.
• Child Care Act
The Child Care Act (1983, amended 1999) is aimed at the protection and welfare of children and
provides, amongst other things, for the removal of a child thought to be at risk and in need of care
(Chapter 3) as well as the prevention of the ill-treatment of children (Chapter 8).
The Act defines a child as any person below the age of 18. It further defines 'children in especially
difficult circumstances' as children denied of their basic human needs, such as children exposed to
violence. It also defines 'commercial sexual exploitation' as
The procurement of a child to perform a sexual act for a financial or other reward payable to the
child, the parents or guardian of the child, the procurer or any other person.
The Act fails to define 'ill-treatment' even though Chapter 8 deals in its entirety with the prevention
of ill treatment of children. This leaves room for interpretations of what constitutes 'ill-treatment'
and may hinder the successful prosecution of any person involved in the ill treatment of a child.
Sections 11 and 12 allows for a child to be removed from any place and taken to a place of safety
and care if it is 'in the interest of the safety and welfare' of the child. An inquiry at the Children's
Court shall determine if the child is a child in need of care. According to Section 14 children in
need of care are those who have been abandoned, exposed to sexual exploitation, physically,
emotionally or sexually abused or ill treated, and live under circumstances which seriously harm
their physical, mental or social well-being.
Subsection (4)(a) of the Act states that a child is in need of care if the child
(i) has been abandoned or is without visible means of support
(iii) lives in circumstances likely to cause or conduce to his or her seduction, abduction or sexual
exploitation
(iv) lives in or is exposed to circumstances which may seriously harm the physical, mental or social
well-being of the child
(v) is in a state of physical or mental neglect;
(vi) has been physically, emotionally or sexually abused or ill-treated by his or her parents or
guardian or the person in whose custody he or she is.
The above section of Chapter 5 of the Act could be applied to provide for the protection and care of
child survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficked children and ensure their access to places of
safety and care.
Chapter 8 of this Act is aimed at preventing the ill-treatment of children. Section 50 (1) states that
Any parent or guardian of a child or any person having the custody of a child who-
(a) ill-treats that child or allows it to be ill-treated; or
(b) abandons that child, or any other person who ill-treats a child, shall be guilty of an offence.
This clearly allows for the conviction of parents, guardians, or persons having custody of a child in
the case of ill treatment or allowing ill treatment to occur. However, 'any other person' can only be
found guilty of an offence if he or she ill-treats a child and not for merely allowing the ill treatment
of a child. Therefore, if any person accused of facilitating the ill-treatment of a child can show that
he or she did not personally engage in the ill-treatment of that child then there would be no offence.
In other words, a taxi driver who transports the child to the place where sexual exploitation occurs
can show that he or she in fact never ill-treated the child, he or she would escape prosecution
despite having allowed the ill treatment.
Furthermore, this section fails to impose a responsibility on the part of medical personnel or
teachers who have knowledge of, or reason to suspect, the ill treatment of a child to report this to
74