SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

1.2 Definitions
While acknowledging that the following terms are conceptualized and interpreted in various
ways, in this report, the following definitions are used:
Trafficking:
(a) ‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of
abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of
the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having
control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at the
minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation,
forced labour or services, slaver or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of
organs;
(c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose
of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any
of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
(d) “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age. 7
The terms ‘sexual abuse’ and ‘sexual exploitation’ require some clarification, as they are
often used interchangeably. 8
Child sexual abuse:
a) Engaging in sexual activities with a child who, according to the relevant provisions of
national law, has not reached the legal age for sexual activities;
b) Engaging in sexual activities with a child where:
– use is made of coercion, force or threats; or
– abuse is made of a recognised position of trust, authority or influence over the child,
including within the family; or
– abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child, notably because of a mental
or physical disability or a situation of dependence.
It should be noted that the provisions of paragraph a) are not intended to govern consensual
sexual activities between children under the age of 18 years. 9
According to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual
Abuse and Exploitation (articles 18 to 23) the definition of sexual exploitation of children
7 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Organized Crime, article 3, United Nations New York,
November 2000, UNICEF uses this definition of child trafficking.
8 The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography – use the language ‘child prostitution’ and ‘child pornography’, United Nations, New
York, May 2000. However, there has been an evolution in the terminology used since the adoption of the
Optional Protocol, with many organizations now preferring to use the terms ‘sexual exploitation in prostitution’
and ‘sexual exploitation through abusive images/material’, which highlight the exploitative aspects of these
phenomena, rather than ‘child prostitution’ and ‘child pornography’.
9 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.
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