Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 28 August 1996
Abigail Schmelz

"The AIDS epidemic has become both a cause and a consequence of the trade in children," Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said in a speech.

"Men are looking out for younger girls because they are concerned that if they have sex with adult women then they are at risk for HIV infection," Piot told Reuters.

Sex with younger partners as protection from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is an illusion, Piot told delegates from 130 countries on the second day of the first World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

Many child prostitutes were infected and young people are actually more susceptible to infection than adults, Piot said.

Statistics showing the rate of HIV infection among child prostitutes were unavailable, but Piot said very small samples indicated that as many as 50 percent of underage sex workers could have the virus.

"Because of the physical disproportion between the partners, a child who is not fully grown is more easily torn or damaged by penetrative sex, and this makes it easier for the virus to pass into the child's body," Piot said in a speech at the conference.

Over 1,000 delegates have gathered in Stockholm for the five-day conference to discuss the scope of the problems, national and international legal reform and raising public awareness.

More than one million children worldwide are reportedly forced into child prostitution and used in the production of child pornography, according to UNICEF figures.

About one million children are currently HIV positive or have AIDS. Most contracted the disease from their infected mothers, Piot said. Over two million children had already died from the disease, he said.

The conference is jointly organized by the Swedish government, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism) and the NGO group on the rights of the child.

While promoting condom use could curb the spread of the HIV virus among underage sex workers, Piot called for broader, urgent measures from governments and communities to end the sexual trade in children.

"Children are weak, vulnerable and uninformed, and they are scarcely in a position to demand that the client should use a condom," Piot said.

"Through income-generation, promotion of rural industry and education policies, governments can reinforce families' resistance to the lure of commercial gain through the sale of their children," he said.

Since the start of the conference, as if to underline how widespread the issue is, horrifying pedophile cases have come to light in Australia, Belgium and Finland.

Finnish police said Wednesday they discovered in a Helsinki apartment a massive computer library of exceptionally repellent pornography using Caucasian and Asian children, and including pictures of torture, mutilation and cannibalism.

Police seized two computers and nearly 350 floppy disks from the home of a 19-year-old student, but could not arrest him because they do not have the powers. Under Finnish law, which is modelled on the liberal Nordic norm, distributing hard-core pornography is a minor offense.

Even where the law is adequate, prosecutors are quick to dismiss sex crime cases, said Merja-Maarja Turunen, senior medical officer and psychiatrist at the National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health.

She quoted an editorial comment on the issue in one Finnish daily which said it was "such a minor problem, let's sweep it under the rug again."

In Belgium police Wednesday were digging for human remains at a property owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex and kidnapping ring being held responsible for at least 15 disappearances.

Nine other suspects have been arrested.

Although Belgian legislation on child prostitution and pornography is among the strictest in the world, Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke told the conference the recent tragedies proved national paperwork was not enough anywhere.

Berlin prosecutors said they filed charges against two German men for sexually abusing children in Thailand and distributing pornographic films and pictures of their degrading acts.

The case is one of only a handful in which authorities have managed to track down suspects under a law which lets them pursue Germans who commit sex offenses abroad.

A 75-year-old Australian man was charged Tuesday with 850 child sex crimes in Australia, after being charged with committing similar offenses in Thailand.
960828
RE9608B3

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1996. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1996. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .