Report on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Solomon Islands

Click on the following web link to download
a copy of the full report in pdf format:

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Solomon Islands:
A Report Focusing on the Presence of the
Logging Industry in a Remote Region

The following is an
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
of the report.

The report outlines a project undertaken by the Christian Care Centre of the Church of Melanesia in the Arosi Region of the Makira Province, Solomon Islands.

The report addresses the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), or sexual abuse in exchange for money or goods, in a remote region of the Solomon Islands, and focuses on the presence of the logging industry and the role this industry plays in abusing and exploiting children.

The project was primarily run by Sisters of the Church of Melanesia, who ran community awareness raising on child abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children for communities and their children.

The project also aimed to gain an indication of the nature and extent of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the region through group discussions with communities, community leaders and individual interviews, and, from these, provide a set of recommendations.

The project was run in six villages across the region, with 12 villages in attendance. Sessions were run in Pijin and the local language. Over 1,000 people came to the community awareness raising, and 370 children attended.

Individual interviews were conducted with forty-one people (12 of whom were the victims themselves). Sixty stories of abuse were collected from these interviews. Forty-one stories were of CSEC, with a further 14 stories of child sexual abuse or possible CSEC. There were at least 73 children who were victims.

Child prostitution was the most prominent type of exploitation, with 25 stories collected, affecting 36 children. Children ranged from age 11 through to 19, with most children being aged 13 to 15 years. Most of the perpetrators were foreign loggers.

There were 12 stories of children entering into early marriage or being 'sold' into marriage by parents. All but two cases were marriages to foreign loggers, and six stories were about girls below the legal age of 15. In addition, there were two cases where a child was at risk of being trafficked, or sold to be taken to another country.

There were also a range of sexual abuse cases, with crimes being committed by both foreign and Solomon Islander men.

Pregnancy of children was an issue, with nine stories of underage girls becoming pregnant. Also of concern were children and young boys being used as "Solair", arranging girls or carrying messages in exchange for money or alcohol. There were eight stories of this happening.

Pornography and children was a major issue in the villages where the project was run. There were two cases where pornography was of Solomon Islander children. There were also a further five cases of children being shown pornographic movies or pictures, both within the camps and within the villages.

There is little doubt that the presence of the logging company is a contributor to these abuse and exploitation cases with children.
However, there are a range of other factors which are discussed in this report and which are likely to be contributors.

These include: issues around marriage; changes to kastom; a lack of awareness about child abuse, exploitation and safety and; the need for different approaches to the monitoring of children.

This study clearly shows that commercial sexual exploitation of children is a serious and substantial problem in at least some areas where logging is present in the Solomon Islands.

This issue requires urgent attention and action. As well as the impact on children, families and communities, the current lack of monitoring of camps means that people in the camps are not accountable for their illegal actions and are easily able to access children for the purpose of sexually abusing and exploiting them.

The report also provides a set of recommendations. These recommendations must be urgently addressed, should be government led, and there should be a commitment from the Ministry Women, Children and Youth to oversee the recommendations of this report.

The recommendations cover: further projects and research; mobilisation of services; increased involvement of government services at the local level and; involvement of logging companies and reduced access of children to logging camps. 

Recommendations have been made based on experiences in the Arosi Region, however it is likely that these recommendations are relevant to all logging areas, particularly those in remote regions.

Click on the following web link to download
a copy of the full report in pdf format:

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Solomon Islands:
A Report Focusing on the Presence of the
Logging Industry in a Remote Region