Untitled - Terre des Hommes

The commercial sexual exploitation of children is not a recognized problem in the more rural areas of
Tamil Nadu, but it does occur in the cities Madurai and Chennai 83 . According to a female pimp in
Chennai 84 , fifteen and sixteen are usual ages to be active in commercial sex work, and she hires girls
from the age of fourteen. She rents out the rooms and finds customers in exchange for a percentage of
the girls’ earnings. The girls are often migrants, orphans or from very poor families that have
approached her for work. Apparently the police do come around regularly and ask the girls their
ages, but the girls do not have to produce any documentation as proof.
Urbanization has lead to an increased number of street children and increased numbers of children
involved in sex work in Bangalore. There are children as young as ten involved in sex work. Girl sex
workers face abuse from their clients, including cigarette burns, whip lashes, cuts and beatings. There
is no significant brothel-based work, although there are some houses run by former sex workers or
groups of sex workers and, in one case, by a politician in Bangalore. Most child sex workers operate
on the streets. There are typically older women, former sex workers, organizing the floating-sex
workers. These women have been known to force their own daughters into this profession. However
infants born into this environment do not generally remain with their mothers, as they are sold, sent
away or taken care of by others. 85
There are also boys involved in sex work, but there is very little data available to confirm the details.
The act of men having sex with boys is often considered to be a matter of sexual orientation, rather
than one of abuse and exploitation. To some extent, the patriarchal system, with its stigmas on early
pregnancy and pre-marital sex, protects girls far better than boys. Boys working in hotels are known
to face sexual abuse by their older co-workers who usually work and live with them in close
proximity. 86
Commercial sex work is illegal for under-18’s, but adults are allowed to solicit on their own premises.
The sex workers form a close-knit group and protect each other to avoid arrests. When children are
caught, they claim to be 18 so as to avoid going into police custody and a rehabilitation home. It is
difficult to pinpoint the female pimps; furthermore, if they are caught they can often pay their way
out with a bribe or fine. Rehabilitation becomes harder the longer children have been working and
exacerbated by widespread substance abuse. The majority of child prostitution cases in Bangalore are
found in the lowest socio-economic classes. 87
Sex tourism in Goa
Despite aggressive campaigning, sex tourism persists in Goa, but in a more obscured form. Whereas
paedophiles would previously interact with children out in the open, on beaches, in shops or even set
up children’s homes, they are now taking the children away from the public eye to private homes in
villages away from the beach. The exploiters are foreign and local tourists, both men and women. The
children are Goan and migrant boys and girls, though the majority are migrant children. Parents
often do not know enough about the risks of sending their children to work on the beach, and do not
imagine that even young children are at risk to sexual abuse and exploitation. Mothers of the children
often believe that the foreigner is interested in her or interested in helping her family and she does not
suspect that her children are the target. Parents tend to be less worried about boys being sexually
83 Service Initiative for Voluntary Action (SIVA) Trust staff in Tirunelveli, Mr. Ramamurthy (UNICEF Tamil
Nadu and Kerala), Society for Human Education (SHE)staff in Madurai, Marga Susi staff in Krishnagiri
84
Interviewed at the Brother Siga Social Service Guild offices and centre in Chennai
85 Ms. Renu Appachu (Jagruthi)
86 Ms. Renu Appachu (Jagruthi)
87 Ms. Renu Appachu (Jagruthi)
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