Child Advocay

In Indonesia as well as in many other nations around the world, children are exploited for their ability to generate income.

While Dark Bali highlights sexual slavery (and many of these children are also victims of sex trafficking), forced labour is another kind of slavery seen in Indonesia and recruitment for begging falls into the international definition of human trafficking under “forced labour or services.”

What's Going On

The Rules

The Most Basic Rules

The most basic rules for interacting with these children are simple:

Do not ever give money to a child
Do not ever buy anything from a child
Do not pay for unsolicited performances

This sounds incredibly harsh, however, it is important to realise that all of the money that touches a child’s hand will end up in the pockets of an exploitative adult. This money seldom goes to poor families to help them afford food or medicine; it goes to perpetuate a system that keeps children out of school and on the streets.

In some documented cases around the world, children are maimed and disfigured, up to even undergoing an amputation, in order to be able to increase the amount of money they can generate from sympathetic tourists.

Trafficking rings exist for the mere purpose of kidnapping or coercing children into forced begging, selling, and performing. Compassionate tourist money fuels this industry.

Alora Navida RoseFoundation advises the above principle when any child is involved, for example a mother holding an infant. This is a heartbreaking explanation of how even infants and toddlers are used by trafficking syndicates for financial gain, often drugging children to keep them quiet while the adult handler (not always their mother) begs.