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Sexual Exploitation of Trafficked Children: Survey Evidence from Child Sex Workers in Bangladesh

Author

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  • Shoji, Masahiro
  • Tsubota, Kenmei
Abstract
Human trafficking is a serious humanitarian problem. Using a nationally representative survey of Bangladeshi child sex workers and an instrumental variable model, we examine the working conditions of trafficked child sex workers and how they differ from those of nontrafficked child sex workers. Existing studies investigating trafficking victimization only used a sample of rescued/escaped victims, and this study is the first to analyze those who are still being exploited. We find that the victims trade sex with 190 percent more clients at a 67.8 percent lower wage and are more exposed to violence, leading to sickness, such as fever and headache. However, the differences in the prevalence of STDs and injury are insignificant presumably because the owners have an incentive to protect the victims from STDs. These findings suggest that evaluating sex workers’ working conditions by the prevalence of STDs alone may underestimate the severity of the exploitation of victims. Furthermore, conducting an empirical analysis without distinguishing between trafficked and nontrafficked workers, as performed in previous studies, leads to misunderstandings regarding the sex industry. We also contribute to the literature concerning the worst form of child labor by providing the first rigorous evidence of the working conditions of child sex workers. Finally, four implications for practitioners are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Shoji, Masahiro & Tsubota, Kenmei, 2021. "Sexual Exploitation of Trafficked Children: Survey Evidence from Child Sex Workers in Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 107834, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:107834
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    Cited by:

    1. Masahiro Shoji, 2023. "Gendered effects of early childhood weather shocks on locus of control: evidence from 28 agricultural countries," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1363-1393, July.
    2. Syed Naimul, Wadood & Nayeema Nusrat, Choudhury & Abul Kalam, Azad, 2023. "Does migration theory explain international migration from Bangladesh? a primer review," MPRA Paper 116611, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Gregory E. van der Vink & Katherine N. Carlson & Erica Phillips & Sabrina H. Szeto & Jeffrey Park & Michael E. Jackson, 2024. "Identifying vulnerability to human trafficking in Bangladesh: An ecosystem approach using weak‐signal analysis," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 524-540, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human trafficking; worst form of child labor; organized crime; sexual crime; child abuse; sexually transmitted diseases; post-disaster crime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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