Poverty is a widespread problem across the country. Surviving on less than a dollar a day, over two-thirds of Madagascans live below the poverty line. Due to the increase in poverty throughout the years, many families with young children go hungry. The very low income of a good amount of households is one reason why the health of children is often extremely poor. Half of the Madagascan children suffer from stunted growth because of an inadequate diet. Because of the diet, Madagascar has one of the highest rates of stunting in the world. Many children can not grow the properly because some households are too poor to have meat or fish regularly, or to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. The life expectancy of a Malagasy is only just over 55 years old. 84 out of every 1,000 children die before the age of five because they do not get the proper nutrient.
Madagascar is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to force labor. The women and children were also subjected to sex trafficking. A reason behind why human trafficking has increased is because of the lack of economic development and a decline in the rule of law. 4,000 Malagasy women are employed as domestic workers and around 3,000 have departed for Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Mauritius, and Seychelles in search for jobs. Most of the women that become domestic workers and have left the country are single mothers. The trafficking victims that have came back from Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia have reported rape, psychological abuse, physical torture, sexual harassment and assault. They also said that there were harsh working conditions and that they were confined to their homes with a withhold of salaries and their travel documents taken away. Not only were the women affected greatly but also the children. The main clients of the prostituted boys and girls are the Malagasy men. The children can start to be trafficked around the age of seven. Child sex trafficking occurs with the involvement of family members. Also, friends, transport operators, tour guides, and hotel workers facilitate the trafficking of children. In some families, parents will force their children into various forms of prostitution to earn money for the family. The government failed to identify and refer victims to protective services and did not support groups providing such services. The de facto government also failed to investigate or prosecute any officials responsible for these offenses even with the reports that show various government officials purchased sexual services from children in the cities of Antananarivo and Nosy Be. |
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