NGO rescues 40 children from sexual exploitation

A local NGO has rescued 40 young girls from sexual exploitation in Mulanje and Phalombe.

Officials from Malawi Network against Trafficking say the children were being sexually exploited in brothels and bars.

Caleb Thole, executive director for the network said most of the girls aged between 13 to 18 are being lured into the business initially as house workers.

He said the Network is engaging police and other stakeholders to deal with the situation.

Most Malawian trafficking victims are exploited within the country, generally transported from the southern part of the country to the central and northern regions for forced labor in agriculture (predominantly the tobacco industry), goat and cattle herding, and brickmaking, reads a report by iref.org.

Many cases of child labor external to the family involve fraudulent recruitment and physical or sexual abuse, indicative of forced labor.

Traffickers, primarily facilitators or brothel owners typically lure children from their families in rural areas under pretenses of employment opportunities, clothing, or lodging for which they are sometimes charged exorbitant fees, resulting in sex trafficking coerced through debts.

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