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

trafficked or abused children are lacking, and such children are usually placed in juvenile
centres or orphanages. As of the publication date of this report (2010), there are four women’s
shelters nationwide to protect female victims of abuse, including victims of trafficking, but
they have limited capacity and funding. With government support, IOM is establishing a
shelter for trafficking victims, intended for women and girls. Short-stay transit shelters are
necessary, but debate is under way about whether the establishment of long-term shelters in
urban areas would benefit children in the long run. Some suggest the emphasis would be
better placed on building community capacity to provide shelter for child victims from rural
areas. 131
Drop-in and referral services for children are available in Kabul but are scarce in rural areas.
Aschiana provides drop-in services, education and vocational training, primarily for boys
living on the street, in several day shelters in Kabul. Aschiana also provides formal education
to several thousand working children in the city. IOM has developed a referral network
among NGOs, government and UN agencies to provide clothing, food, psychological and
medical support, and repatriation assistance to victims of trafficking.
The government currently lacks resources and technical skills to provide comprehensive
rehabilitative care, and NGOs provide the bulk of assistance to victims. One such NGO, the
Social Voluntary Foundation, was established in 2001 to educate boys and girls. It now
operates a clinic that provides counselling to child victims of war, including those who have
been sexually abused. The organization has established child rights committees, comprised of
children, teachers and community members that address abuses of child rights in Kabul,
particularly for children on the street. The organization conducts home visits and has
organized parenting groups to discuss child protection issues. However, due to the cultural
importance of family dignity and honour, intercession with families for child sexual abuse
cases has not yet been conducted.
To improve the quality of child protection services, including those for victims of sexual
abuse, a regional social work coaching system has been introduced by UNICEF in 11
provinces. Assessment tools for families and child victims have been developed, including
those for reporting specifically on child sexual abuse cases. To build social work capacity in
the country, UNICEF is collaborating with the National Skills Development Programme of
the MoLSAMD to establish basic competencies for social work practice, to be linked with a
licensing and registration programme.
Afghanistan has numerous reintegration projects, supported by government and international
donors, primarily targeted at child victims of war or children repatriated from migration or
exile. With the support of IOM and others, in 2007 the Government assisted 400 child victims
of trafficking, primarily boys, who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and
Zimbabwe. The initiative facilitated family reunification and provided children with medical
care, education services and shelter in juvenile centres or orphanages. 132
131 UNICEF Afghanistan, 2008, ‘A discussion paper on child trafficking in Afghanistan’ (internal document).
132 US State Department, 2007, ‘Trafficking in persons report 2007’.
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