Poverty and child trafficking in Ghana: A study of the fishing sector

Worldwide child trafficking reflects the widespread poverty and erosion of moral norms in institutions in charge of the care for the young among sending communities and receiving communities. In the Sub-Saharan context, West Africa has been most affected by this problem and is facing key challenges in determining its causes and effects. Patterns of trafficking in this region indicate a symmetrical relationship between sending and receiving areas, or sending areas are also receiving. Symmetrical flows also turn some of the receiving areas into transit function zones (UNICEF, 2003: 18). Currently, countering responses are primarily directed at setting up a legal framework to control and prosecute trafficking networks, to intercept trafficked children for return and reintegration.