29 Dec 2010

Fiji call to focus on adults behind child sex trade

7:36 am on 29 December 2010

The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre would like to see the adults behind the child sex trade in Fiji being focused on as part of a new project to eradicate the illegal industry.

The campaign against the sex trade is being led by Save the Children in partnership with the International Labour Organisation.

One of its first moves will be to remove children already identified as being involved .

But the Co-ordinator for the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, Shamima Ali, is worried that removing the children won't deal with those possibly driving the activity:

"A lot of these children are also doing these things because adults force them into it. While we are talking about sexual exploitation, we also talk about child labour and who is benfitting from it. So while we go out in schools and talk to the children to make them more aware and for children to look out for each other, what if these children are still being forced into that situation."