Region moves to protect girls from prostitution

International sex syndicates are luring pre-pubescent girls into a life of slavery and abuse from impoverished African countries such as Mozambique and Malawi, African Eye News reported on Monday, quoting the international police organisation Interpol. The girls, some as young as eight or nine-years old, are lured from their homes with promises of work in homes and restaurants in neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The girls are instead often forced to work in brothels serving older men, who believe that younger prostitutes are safe from HIV/AIDS. The scams are so widespread that Interpol and Southern African Development Community (SADC) immigration authorities met this week to develop strategies to tackle the trade. The bodies have agreed to work with NGOs such as the Exploitation of Children Prostitution and Sex Tourism (ECPAT) board to co-ordinate efforts against the syndicates.

ECPAT spokeswoman Bernadetta van Vuuren said: "We will collaborate with Interpol and immigration authorities to form focal points around the SADC region to rescue and protect girls from the syndicates." The core initiative of ECPAT is to lobby other NGOs in the SADC to intervene where abuse is detected. Analysts blame widespread poverty in the developing world, especially sub-Saharan Africa where young girls become easy pray for pedophiles.