The Economic Position of Family and its Relationship with Child Trafficking: A Study from the Perspective of Policy Analysts and Experts

Syed Rashid Ali & Niaz Muhammad

Abstract
The prevalence of child trafficking reflects the omnipresent poverty, deterioration of
institutional norms, lack of relevant laws, and deficient implementation in both the source
communities and destination locations (ILO, 2002). However, most of the countries respond
to the problem of child trafficking from solely a legal perspective. They declare it an act of
violence and focus on prosecuting the offenders. Such approach is limited in its scope as it
ignores to probe into the underlying factors of the problem and hence, lacks the appropriate
and long term effective strategy of an effective resolution. The issue of child trafficking is
rooted in the multidimensional factors associated with socio-economic, political, cultural,
and educational aspects (Broderick, 2005; Limanowska, 2005). It is inevitable to explore
and analyze these issues in order to develop a comprehensive and everlasting solution to the
problem. In this context, the present study is designed to investigate the economic factors
associated with child trafficking. The study is based on the results and findings of a survey
carried out in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A sample of 392
respondents was selected through a stratified random sampling technique from a list of
lawyers, crime reporters, and academicians.

Key words: Child Trafficking, Economic Factors, Family, Opinion Leaders, Peshawar.