Panafrican News Agency - November 29, 2001

"Whether it is myths about the curative powers of sex with young girls, or macho attitudes that sanction violent sexual behaviour toward women and girls, the links between sexual abuse of children and the spread of HIV/AIDS are clear," said UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy, in a press statement.

Bellamy said that children who are forced into the sex trade, estimated to be one million every year, are the most vulnerable to contracting and then spreading HIV/AIDS. She called for more direct action aimed at challenging accepted sexual behaviours, as well as action to protect children from the sex trade to begin with.

Bellamy's comments come as UNICEF gears up for the 2nd World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, to be held in Yokohama, Japan, which UNICEF is co-sponsoring with ECPAT International, the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Government of Japan.

The congress, to be held from 17 to 20 December follows the commemoration of the World's AIDS Day slated for 1 December.

Research and preparatory meetings for the Yokohama Congress have highlighted the need not only to protect the child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, but also to diminish the demand among the (mostly) male customers who abuse them.

Contrary to popular belief, research shows that a majority of exploiters do not match the profile of the 'paedophile,' but are men who go to prostitutes and through either machismo or indifference choose ever younger children for sex.

Fuelling the demand for young girls in some parts of the world, particularly Asia and Africa, is ignorance about HIV/AIDS transmission and myths about the curative powers of virginity.

Some exploiters, believe that sex with a child is less risky because the child is more likely to be 'clean' and unable to transmit disease. In reality, children are physically more prone to bleeding, infection and disease. And they are rarely able to negotiate safe sex or fend off violent behaviour.

In some of the hardest-hit countries, teenage girls are infected at five- to-six times the rate of teenage boys. It is estimated that 13 million young people between 15 years and 24 years of age are living with HIV/AIDS and more than 7,000 young people are infected each day.

At a recent preparatory meeting for the Yokohama Congress held in Rabat, Morocco, African delegates reported another link between HIV/AIDS and sexually exploited children.

Twelve million children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost parents to HIV/AIDS. This figure is expected to more than double in the coming decade. These orphans are being drawn into the sex trade.

Not only do they lose their family, these children are often plunged into deeper poverty, denied education, forced onto the streets and into labour, all situations that increase, many-fold, their vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

Already, UNICEF is working in many different ways to protect those children most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.

In Rwanda, for example, UNICEF works with child-headed households to provide school supplies so that the children can stay in school.

In Madagascar and Zimbabwe, it supports special drop-in centres for abused children and women that also provide AIDS education.

Tackling the demand for sex with children is essential if the child sex- HIV/AIDS connection is to be broken, Bellamy said, adding that the Yokohama Congress would provide an opportunity to make concrete progress in this crucial area.
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