ABSTRACT
From the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 to the Stockholm World Conference on the Commercial Sexploitation of Children, awareness has increased for the injustices that were and are being perpetrated on children all over the world, including in developing countries. Very little is known about the commercial sexual exploitation of children prior to puberty. It can be assumed that it is primarily street children who are affected, who sell themselves for a little money. Commercial sexual abuse exists within a diffuse gray area, but is nevertheless in the public eye because it is ruled by market forces. In contrast, the problem of sexual abuse within a child’s family or circle of acquaintances, or by outside violent criminals, remains almost entirely in the dark. SOS Children’s Villages Paraguay provides homes for around 500 children in four villages, one of which is for handicapped children.
