[Commercial sexual exploitation of minor girls. A multifocal, exploratory and prospective study in Cameroon]

To obtain reliable information on commercial sexual exploitation of minor girls under the age of 21, a multifocal, exploratry and prospective using a questionnaire was undertaken in Cameroon. This investigation was initiated and funded by the Cercle International pour la Promotion de la Création (CIPCRE) and carried out by the Cameroon Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CASPCAN). The survey was performed during the last quarter of year 2004 in four major cities of Cameroon, i.e. Yaoundé, Douala, Bamenca and Bafoussam. Of the 800 questionnaires that were distributed, 722 were considered as suitable for analysis (90.3%). A total of 291 minor girls were victims of commercial sexual exploitation, i.e., 40% of the population studied. The mean age of the victims was 16.6 years (range, 9-20 years). The main reason given for entering prostitution was poverty. The victims were fairly well educated but the level of instruction was not sufficient to find a job paying an income comparable to prostitution. Many were from large families (mean, 7.1 children). The victims' family was monogamous in 40.2% of cases, polygamous in 24.4%, and monoparental in 35.4%. Eighty percent of the victims already had run away from home at least once due to problems in their families ranging from severe corporal punishment (25.8%) and mistreatment linked to parental alcohol and drug abuse to forced early marriage (27.5%) and intrafamilial sexual abuse. A large proportion of the victims (36.4%) were mothers who could not attend school and could not find work. Many victims were completely neglected by their own parents with 43.4% of parents being aware of the activities of their daughters but only 10.6% being opposed to it. Most (78.5%) had good knowledge of the risk of HIV and used condoms regular. These results confirms the general hypothesis of the authors that commercial exploitation of minor girls is widespread in Cameroon. The authors recommend development of a national program to combat this plight.