The Historical Development of the Laws Relating to Child Sexual Exploitation Prior to the Passing of the UNCRC in 1989

The abuse of children for sexual purposes has a long-standing history. It evolved due to many factors such as disparity in gender, misled religious beliefs, acceptable customary practices, superstition and economic development and it remains severe globally. The United Nations Children's Fund (“UNICEF”) estimated in 2014 that about 120 million girls under the age of 18 have been subjected to forced sexual acts at some point of their lives. Even though this statistic covers all categories of sexual abuse, including exploitative as well as non-exploitative forms, the number is irrefutably alarming and UNICEF acknowledges that sexual violence, including sexual exploitation, is one of the most disconcerting of violations against the rights of children. Owing to the severity of the matter, protecting the children against sexual exploitation and abuse has become an international agenda since the late 1800s. It is now universally established under Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the UNCRC”) that children have the rights to be protected against any form of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. This article seeks to canvass the historical development of the laws relating to child sexual exploitation prior to the passing of UNCRC in 1989.