We Need to Rescue Child Sex Workers in Sri Lanka

A child would never want to be a sex worker, if he or she had an option. It is the most margnialized and vulnerable children who become trafficked  as sex workers. Child sex workers do not have any hope about their futures. They dont have a chance to enjoy childhood. Life for a child sex worker is full of suffering.  Addressing issues of child sex workers is extremely risky and life threatening. Yet the children who are working in the sex industry badly need a helping hand to overcome the worst form of exploitation they are currently experiencing.


Child sex workers or child prostitution is the practice whereby a child is used by others for sexual activities in return for remuneration or any other form of consideration. The remuneration or other consideration could be provided to the child or to another person. Most generally, child sex workers means that a party other than the child benefits from a commercial transaction in which the child is made available for sexual purposes - either an exploiter intermediary (pimp) who controls or oversees the child’s activities for profit, or a child abuser who negotiates an exchange directly with a child in order to receive sexual gratification. The provision of children for sexual purposes may also be a medium of exchange between adults.

Child sex work is seen as forming part of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and is sometimes connected to the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, child pornography and child sex tourism that emerged mainly after the late 1970s alongside the complex process of globalization characterized by increasing interdependence, integration and interaction among people, societies and institutions around the world in the spheres of trade, economy, culture, knowledge and politics.

The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution is one of the worst forms of child labor. This convention, adopted in 1999, provides that countries that had ratified it must eliminate the practice urgently. Sri Lanka, as a country has ratified almost all international conventions related to labour by the ILO and the United Nations (UN) in addition to national initiatives by the Sri Lankan government to deal with children’s rights and related issues. Sri Lanka has achieved remarkable success in enrolling almost all children in primary schools; a goal prominent among the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]. Sri Lankan laws ban the practice of child labour. However, child labour including child sex work still remains a matter of concern.

Situation and conditions of child sex workers of Sri Lanka has been barely documented. Most of the data available is out dated. There is no comprehensive study conducted to identify issues of child sex workers. In order to rescue children from sex work, the support of the state and brave human rights activists is necessary. It is necessary to conduct a background research and develop a workable action plan with the support of all the stakeholders.

By Asitha and Nirekha