Abstract:
The major objective of this study was to examine the various and numerous socio-cultural determinants of trafficking in children and adolescents for sexual purposes in several groups of children and adolescents as well as their parents, in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Major Sociological and Criminological theories were used as theoretical frame on which this research rests. These include Shaw and McKay's Social Disorganization theory; Cornish and Clarke's Rational Choice theory; Quay and Gray's Reward Dominance theory; Emile Durkheim's Anomie theory; Merton's Structural Strain theory and Sutherland's Differential Association theory. Other theories which supported the phenomenon under study include the Social Learning theory by Burgess and Akers; Labeling theory by Tannenbaum and Lemert and the Control theory by Reiss, Hirschi and Gottfredson. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the course of this study which were tested using the Statistical Programme for Social Sciences, Version 16.0 (SPSS). A total of 1770 subjects were interviewed in four surveys, while the fifth survey covered 630 parents of trafficked victims. The primal determinant of TCASP from the findings was poverty which was a function of parents' low socio-economic status. Also child abandonment due to witchcraft accusation and austere economic conditions made most children (especially girls) vulnerable to trafficking for sexual purposes in foreign countries. Based on the above findings, the study recommended, inter-alia, that governments should establish partnerships with the private sector, NGOs, FBOs and intergovernmental organisations to develop programmes that will ensure high-risk groups (children and women) are provided with good education, job training and opportunities for survival. As a result of grave implications of TCASP, policy formulation should incorporate support for further studies and research on the phenomenon of trafficking of children, to better understand its dynamics, its mutations and best ways of addressing it.
Description:
A Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology at the University of Zululand, South Africa in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, 2009.
