CONTENTS
Overview
A Grim Picture
A Complex Problem
Taking Action
Toward a Long-Term Solution
Nongovernmental Organizations

When you give children books and an education, you give them the ability to imagine a future of opportunity, equality, and justice. Education is the single most important long-term investment we can make in the future.
— Laura Bush
First Lady of
the United States
 
the Centre d'Accueil in Gabon
Young girls at the Centre d'Accueil in Gabon, with, one of the volunteers who cares for the children. The center was established in 2000 as a safe house where previously trafficked girls can stay while waiting for funds to pay for their journey home. In its first year, the center repatriated 89 girls to Benin and Togo. (© 2001 Michael St. Maur Sheil/Stockphoto.com)
TOWARD A LONG-TERM SOLUTION

As many of these programs suggest, and many experts agree, the long-term answer to abolishing child slavery lies in education. That means educating families, communities, and government about the realities of trafficking and educating children in school to broaden their opportunities in life.

The mass media can be a forceful ally in generating public outrage about child trafficking. Photos of child slaves and news reports of intercepted slave ships carrying hundreds of malnourished children convey a powerful global message that is hard to ignore. Governments and private organizations alike would do well to facilitate journalists' access to reliable data on child trafficking and to provide training programs to expand their overall knowledge of the issue.

Local media also can play an important role in deterring trafficking. The World Bank study in Benin found a lower incidence of child labor migration in villages that had a community radio station, access to local language newspapers, or town criers who broadcast the news verbally through the streets.

Formal education for children is critical. The Benin study showed that children who have never been to school are at higher risk of trafficking and, conversely, that fewer children are sent away to work from villages where there is a secondary school. Education gives children self-esteem and the promise of a brighter future, which makes them less vulnerable to the empty promises of a trafficker. Schools also serve as a protective haven and can play an important role in educating children about trafficking and how to report incidents to the authorities.

According to UNICEF's Dr. Rima Salah, 34 countries currently are experimenting with tackling child labor through education. Efforts include improving school readiness in early childhood, working to reduce dropout rates, and developing second chance opportunities for working children who have missed out on education. She adds that for education to serve as an effective preventive against trafficking, there must also be an emphasis on vocational training for both boys and girls.

As Secretary of State Powell has said: "The only way to effectively address the worldwide problem of trafficking is through collective efforts by all countries...and by being brutally honest about this issue." This pamphlet is an attempt to be brutally honest about one of the worst forms of human brutality. It is now up to all of us to join the collective effort to stop it.

Nongovernmental Organizations »