Causes and Psycho-Social Effects of Child Trafficking in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study is attempted to examine the causes and effects of child trafficking in North Wollo Zone. Child trafficking is a global challenge affecting every country in the world. It involves multiple forms of sexual and labor exploitation which is described as a modern slavery. Hence, it gave the researcher an inspiration to investigate the causes and effects of child trafficking in north Wollo Zone. The specific objectives of this study were; to explore the major causes of child trafficking, to identify the major actors in child trafficking, to disclose effects of trafficking on children/ especially psycho-social effects of trafficking and to describe the trend of child trafficking for the past ten years. To conduct this study embedded exploratory design was employed. In order to collect the data in-depth interview, focus group discussion and document review was used. Thematic analysis for qualitative data and means, tables, graphs and charts for quantitative data employed to analyze the data and to show the trend. Result shows that Child trafficking is a problem in most districts in the zone especially in the lowland districts.  Children got vulnerable to be trafficked because of the poverty, peer pressure, hearing about employment opportunities in towns, attraction by the better living conditions in town, community discrimination, and families interest to be benefited from children employment through trafficking. The major actors in the trafficking process were brokers; brokers cheated family members, money loaning persons /usury lenders, grievance committee and relatives in cities. The trafficked children mainly experienced the physical, psychological and emotional social and economical forms of effects during their trafficking and in the past ten years increasing trend indicates that child/human trafficking is a continual problem of the community and is a global hazard. Eventually the researcher concluded that child trafficking plays a pivotal role in deteriorating the overall development of the children in different forms. Government and non-governmental organizations are recommended to coordination projects which could alleviate the economic challenge of victims of trafficking.