The most vulnerable sectors of society have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. According to the UN independent expert Mama Fatima Singhateh, children from families belonging to this category of the population are most at risk of being captured by traffickers or victims of sexual exploitation.
“In the long term, it may turn out that children will be among those most affected by the crisis,” the UN press service reports. “This is also evidenced by the experience of other crisis situations: in West Africa, for example, the Ebola epidemic in 2014-2015 was accompanied by a sharp increase in sexual violence and the number of teenage pregnancies. It was later revealed that many girls, including those who lost their relatives due to Ebola, were forced to provide paid sexual services in order to buy food and other essential goods.”
Mom Fatima Singhateh said that according to UNICEF estimates, the pandemic has put about 150 million children in poverty.
UN Special Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council and mandated to study the human rights situation in a particular country or topic.
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