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writing. Studies indicate that between 16% and 33% of females
in the industry are under the age of 18. 26 A government report
indicated that children as young as 12 years old were involved
in the industry. 27 Local non-governmental organisations report
having come across 11 year-old children involved in commercial
sexual exploitation. Research also indicates that nearly one
half enter the industry before they reach the age of 18. 28
Informal sources state that the average age of girls entering
the entertainment industry is rapidly decreasing. Commercial
sexual exploitation of children existed in the old sex industry
as it does in the new industry. In 1998, in a survey of sex work
and commercial sexual exploitation in 40 districts, it was found
that nearly one third of those in commercial sexual exploitation
were under the age of 18. 29 However the age average tends
to decrease in Kathmandu valley. It has been observed that
girls are coached to increase their age especially when police
or social workers ask.
“From my experience, since customers prefer young and
pretty girls, the demand for them is increasing. As a result,
the tendency to lure and deceive young girls by promising
good jobs is on the rise. I have met with girls as young as
13 years of age working in this sector and feel sad about
it”.
Parbati Subedi, Psychosocial counsellor, Change Nepal
How did the present industry arise
Twenty years ago, there were no red light areas in urban areas
(with the notable exception of a short-lived area outside the
city of Nepalgunj, which was dissolved under public pressure
in the late 1990s). At that time, there were no cabin restaurants
or dance bars, and only a few massage parlours in the tourist
areas, which provided genuine massage to weary foreign
tourists. Nepal is one of the few countries in South Asia (along
with only Bhutan and the Maldives) that has never had a fullfledged
red light area. Sex work has long existed in
the country, however. Sex workers were found on the streets,
through connections in small hotels and drinking establishments,
and at roadside stops along the transportation routes. 30 A few
brothels, often offering gambling as well as access to sex, were
found in many urban and semi-urban areas, although these
brothels were exceedingly discreet and accessible to customers
only through personal connections, pimps and other
intermediaries such as taxi drivers.
As well, until recently, Nepal has never had a great problem
of internal trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation
purposes. Due to the openness and casualness of the local
sex industry, there was no place for confined, forced
prostitution.
Nepal’s 11-year conflict contributed to the rise of the present
sex industry. This occurred in several ways. The conflict
resulted in massive dislocation of rural populations and their
2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 25