Child trafficking: a trans- border journey of hope to hopelessness

Abstract

Child trafficking is a contemporary form of slave trade. Slave trade, a practice that has been abolished in all countries worldwide has resurfaced in the form of child trafficking, the system changing from forced abduction in the slave trade practice as a result of wars and raids to a system of deception and false promise to vulnerable persons in trafficking. The end result of both practices is that the victim is not. Child trafficking is transnational in nature because of the involvement of organized syndicate who specialize in trading children from one country to another. Trafficking in children has become a global business, giving huge profit for traffickers and organized syndicates, generating massive human rights violation and causing serious problem for governments. Today trafficking is one of the major concerns of both government and organization active in the migration field and it is a priority for persons working in the area of human rights, health, law enforcement agencies and social services. This article addresses work as a crime cutting across local and international borders, examines its nature, causes, effects and the global efforts to suppress it.