Technical Brief: Addressing Child Trafficking in Karamoja, A Case Study of the Napak District

The prevalence of child trafficking in the district is high, manifesting in the form of forced child labor, harmful child labor, child marriages, and illegal or immoral activities such as begging, stealing, and prostitution. The underlying drivers of child trafficking in the Napak District include high incidence of poverty, insecurity due to livestock raids, food insecurity and hunger, peer influence, limited access to education, inadequate family support, and the existence of a network of child traffickers. Poverty is a significant factor contributing to child trafficking in the Napak District. Surveyed households were found to be asset-poor and income-poor, with parents perceiving their children as a source of income and pushing them into employment, marriage, and other practices. Insecurity due to cattle raids has further exacerbated poverty, resulting in the loss of livestock and livelihoods for the Karamojong people. This has led to the youth being forced to look for alternative work, increasing their risk of becoming victims of exploitation and trafficking. Food insecurity and hunger are also significant drivers of child trafficking in the Napak District. Karamoja experiences frequent food insecurity due to poor harvests, poor soils, and long dry seasons or highly erratic rains. Ninety-nine percent of surveyed households did not have adequate food or sufficient money to feed all household members, leading caregivers to aid the migration of children into towns outside of the Karamoja region in search of food or income. Limited access to education is another underlying cause of child trafficking in the Napak District. A significant proportion of children of school-going age were not enrolled in school, while 35 percent dropped out before completing primary education. The main reasons given for non-enrolment of children in school include high costs of tuition and academic materials, insecurity, peer influence, hunger, long distance to schools, child labor, and the unwillingness of the children to attend school. Peer influence plays a significant role in tempting children to leave their homes and become victims of trafficking. Trafficked returnees entice their peers with luxury goods, leading children to choose to be trafficked despite being aware of returnees' bad experiences. Inadequate family support and poor parenting skills also contribute to child trafficking, with dysfunctional families forcing children to run away in search of better living conditions. A Government-led coordination mechanism involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development partners should be created to enhance existing capacities around curbing child trafficking and harnessing available opportunities to tackle the problem. This mechanism should focus on addressing the underlying drivers of child trafficking, including poverty, insecurity, food insecurity, limited access to education, and inadequate family support. The study found that up to 22% of children in the Napak District had experienced some form of exploitation, qualifying them as victims of child trafficking. Many children were not in the direct care of their biological parents, making them vulnerable to different forms of exploitation. The manifestation of child trafficking in the Napak District includes forced child labor, harmful child labor, child marriages, and illegal or immoral activities. Forced child labor is a significant manifestation of child trafficking in the Napak District, with children aged five years and above being involuntarily engaged in different forms of work. Up to 6% of boys living and working away from home were not allowed to leave or contact their parents. Harmful child labor is also prevalent, with a significant number of surveyed children being involved in some form of harmful labor practices. Child marriages are another manifestation of child trafficking in the Napak District, with 0.7% of boys and 2% of girls aged five years and above being married before reaching the legal age of 18 years. Child marriages increase the risk of exposure of children to domestic violence, teenage pregnancies, and related childbirth difficulties, and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The study recommends that a Government-led coordination mechanism be created to enhance existing capacities around curbing child trafficking and harnessing available opportunities to tackle the problem. This mechanism should focus on addressing the underlying drivers of child trafficking, including poverty, insecurity, food insecurity, limited access to education, and inadequate family support.