Sampling Efforts in Cote d’Ivoire on Child Trafficking Prevalence Estimation

• In Event: Estimating and Understanding Child Trafficking in West Africa: Assessment Strategies and Methodological Challenges

Abstract

As a destination and transit country, Cote d’Ivoire (CDI) is believed to have a serious problem of child trafficking, including child forced begging, child domestic work, and commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). We were asked to provide formative research to support a US government’s program to support the Ivorian government in combatting child trafficking. Obtaining estimates for the scope and prevalence of child trafficking is critical to inform anti-trafficking efforts, but traditional sampling and estimation methods are often impractical when trafficked populations are difficult to reach. This presentation discusses our recent efforts to measure child trafficking prevalence in Abidjan, the capital city of Cote d’Ivoire in three distinct trafficking markets – child domestic workers, girls involved in sexual exploitation and forced-begging. Survey sampling and estimation strategies for reaching these hidden populations will be discussed, along with descriptive estimates for the prevalence of trafficking violations derived from ~2,100 surveys.

Authors

• Jason Rydberg, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Xichen Wang, University of Massachusetts Lowell