Foreign sex workers in Sri Lanka
A higher official from Sri Lanka Police talking on conditions of anonymity told the how child soldiers had been recruited by the rebels during the three decade war and added that neither the Government of Sri Lanka nor the Police could take any action against the LTTE regarding forced labour. “Child soldiering is also a crime as they are unlawful recruitment. Very young girls and boys had been recruited forcibly by the LTTE and in some cases the children themselves had joined the paramilitary organization to safeguard their families. There were many reported cases where these children had been sent to the battle field as human shields. But we do not know whether these children were sexually abused by the rebels. However after the war concluded we were able to rehabilitate the devastated child soldiers who were undergoing physical and psychological consequences over the years,” the sources said.
He further stated as to how traffickers are using underage children in begging, mostly in and around Colombo.“we are handling a number of such
Up to now we have deported most of them and we have also taken action against those who were managing these massage parlours
cases and according to the victims, they are forced to beg on the streets to make money for the traffickers. These children are not allowed to leave, as rings of people are monitoring them. Though these children are provided with the basic meals, they are not paid for the ‘jobs’ they do on behalf of the traffickers. They work as slaves and are not allow to leave their ‘jobs’. They are being held forcibly,” sources claimed.
The sources further said how the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka Police opened an anti-trafficking unit in 2016 and legal action had been taken against an Uzbekistani lady who had trafficked two young girls from her country promising employment in Sri Lanka.“she was married to a Sri Lankan and they have been engaged in trafficking over the past several years. The two victims had been forcibly exploited in the sex industry although they were promised jobs in restaurants. The CID has been notified about this brothel and once raided the husband and the wife were each given a nine-year jail terms,” the sources said. According to the sources, the National Child Protection Authority, the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau and the Department of Immigration and Emigration are working hand in glove to crackdown any trafficking cases. “There are only a few cases that have been reported to us. We have forwarded these cases to the CID for further investigations and to take action against the criminals. The police have raided many massage parlours in the country, especially in and around Colombo. At these massage parlours Chinese and Russians were engaged in offering sex to customers. These foreign sex workers cannot be identify as victims as they have come to Sri Lanka to engage in sex trade and were working on tourist visas. Up to now we have deported most of them and we have also taken action against those who were managing these massage parlours. Even the owners of these buildings had been questioned and action had been taken against them as well,” the police sources added.