By Asiyatu James, Eye of the Child
A child’s poverty should never become someone else’s opportunity to exploit them.
At the end of the day, every child deserves to think about school, friends, play and dreams. But for some children living in difficult circumstances, the biggest question is much simpler: “Where will my next meal come from?”
When families struggle to provide food, school fees, clothing and other basic needs, children can become more vulnerable to people who take advantage of their situation with a promise of money, a meal, new clothes, and a job.
What looks like help can sometimes become a pathway into exploitation.
One girl staying at Eye of the Child shelter knows this reality. She comes from a family headed by a single mother who spends each day moving from place to place trying to find enough money to provide basic needs for her children.
Some days, the struggle continues from morning until evening. The girl would return from school hungry, only to find that there was no food at home.
Eventually, hunger pushed her to look for her own way of getting money. She began moving around bars in search of money to buy food.
What started as a search for something as basic as a meal placed her in an environment where she became vulnerable to exploitation
What happened to this child is a reminder that vulnerability can be noticed by the wrong people.
It is important to be clear: poverty does not cause or justify commercial sexual exploitation of children. Children do not choose to be exploited because they are poor.
A child accepting money, food or a gift does not give an adult the right to sexually exploit that child. The responsibility lies with those who exploit children and with the adults and systems that must protect them.
Protecting children requires more than rescuing them after exploitation has happened. Parents and guardians can pay attention to where children spend their time and who they interact with.
Teachers can notice when a child suddenly stops attending school. Communities can speak up when children are being taken into unsafe environments.
Business owners must ensure their premises are not being used to exploit children and when exploitation is suspected, silence should never be the response.
A child who is hungry needs food not exploitation. A child who needs school fees needs support not abuse.
A child who needs opportunity needs someone to open a door not someone to take advantage of their vulnerability.
At Eye of the Child, we believe every child deserves protection, dignity and the opportunity to grow without exploitation.
We call on parents, communities, businesses and everyone who cares about children to notice, speak up and act.
Protect a child! Speak up against exploitation.