Iraqi children forced into prostitution in Syria

There is growing evidence of Iraqi children being used as prostitutes in Syria. It is estimated that there are around 700,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, many of whom are struggling in situations of poverty. Cases are emerging of families sending their teenage daughters to work as prostitutes, in order to survive.
Abdelhamid El Ouali, the representative for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Damascus said
“”It’s a serious problem because there are young girls doing this — 11, 12, 13 years old,” There is little or no discussion of this in Syria, and the government does not release figures on prostitution.
Whenever there is great instability in a nation, like in Iraq, either through war, famine or disease, there is likely to be a break down of social norms leading to a growth in prostitution. Sometimes this is survival prostitution with women and girls agreeing to become involved in the sex trade. Often alongside this is the emergence of human trafficking. More research needs to be done into the extent of human trafficking of Iraqi girls into prostitution in Syria. In the present climate it is unlikely that this research will be done by the Syrian regime.