Poverty pushing children into harmful work in Nepal’s adult entertainment sector

Children are being driven into sexual exploitation and the worst forms of child labour in Nepal’s adult entertainment sector (AES), due to pressure to support their families financially, new research reveals.

The study shows that although there were some cases of child trafficking, the main driver for children to seek jobs in the AES was poverty, and the pressure they felt to earn enough to significantly support their families financially, to cover rents, debt repayments or medical expenses after a health crisis, or after the death of a family member.

Excessive hours, alcohol consumption and sexual exploitation

Research was conducted with 400 children and young people (aged 14 to 22) working in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu in the worst forms of child labour in the AES, which includes dance bars, massage spaces, guest houses and spas. The harmful work undertaken by girls and boys involves working excessive hours, consuming damaging amounts of alcohol, sexual exploitation, verbal and physical abuse.

Latest figures show that 160 million children are victims of child labour worldwide, and despite the efforts of the UN, NGOs and governments to eliminate all forms of child labour by 2025, in recent years, the number of children working globally has been rising. Indicating that a new approach is therefore needed to tackle the issue, a five-year research project partnership CLARISSA (Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia), led by the Institute of Development Studies, worked with children and employers in Kathmandu, to understand what drives children into the AES, and what motivates employers to hire them.

Danny Burns, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, said:

“Evidence has shown that families rely on their children’s support for their survival, this makes children critical economic actors. Eliminating child labour therefore requires interventions that support families so that children do not have to work in the worst forms of child labour to provide an income. For example, improving healthcare provision and access could prevent a sudden illness leading to a catastrophic and long-term financial crisis for a family, which would in-turn reduce the reliance on child labour.

“Efforts to tackle child labour must include both interventions that make children working in the adult entertainment sector safer in the short term, as well as strategies to eliminate child labour and exploitation from the sector entirely.”

Kriti Bhattarai, Senior Program Manager, Voice of Children Nepal and CLARISSA partner, said:

“The hiring of minors in adult entertainment venues such as dohori, dance bars, massage spas, and small khaja ghars (snack shops) is driven by the high demand for young girls, making it a profit-making strategy for business owners. Despite government laws prohibiting the employment of children under 18, these businesses often provide fake identity cards and train minors to conceal their true age.

“This leads to children working late nights, consuming alcohol, dealing and or engaging with customers as per their demand, and enduring irregular sleep and empty stomachs, all while hiding their jobs from their families due to social stigma. This situation calls for urgent government intervention to regularly monitor and regulate the sector, ensuring the safety and well-being of these vulnerable children.”

Uncovering the experiences of children in the worst forms of child labour

The findings detailed in the new report ‘The drivers and dynamics of worst forms of child labour in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector’ includes records of the children’s life stories and experiences at work, uncovering:

• Children working in the AES are sexually exploited and coerced. Physical intimacy is an expected and normalised aspect of the roles of girl children working in dance bars.
• Verbal and physical abuse. Where girls working in the AES push back against sexual exploitation, they are met with verbal and physical abuse from both customers and employer and told to accept it or leave – therefore unable to support their families.
• Children are expected to consume high levels of In addition to alcohol consumption having a detrimental impact on their health, children described the impact of alcohol consumption by customers as switching their behaviour from ‘good’ to ‘bad’ – leading to an increase in verbal and physical abuse as well as sexual exploitation.
• Long working hours. Children often begin working at 5pm until the early hours of the morning. Their days often include housework and going to school alongside work. The effects of alcohol, lack of sleep, lack of time to eat proper meals and abuse on children’s physical and mental health and safety are concerning, researchers warn.

Read the report

Child stories

In 14-year-old Simran’s life story, she describes how ill-health in her family led her to migrate to Kathmandu with her family where they became burdened by debt:

“My father works with carpets, and he also has foot problems which mean he can’t work long hours. My mother’s heart is swollen, and blood comes out of her mouth. Her treatment has already cost up to 300,000 rupees (US$3,000) and the doctor has told us that she has to have an operation. My family pays for these treatments with loans taken from people, which have to be repaid with interest, but so far we have not been able to repay…”

A 15-year-old anonymous girl who was working in a Guest House described how she originally took the job believing it be as a waitor:

Her sister-in-law used to work in an eatery which was looking for people…we weren’t told anything at the beginning, they told us we only had to work as a waiter and our job was to take order and give it at the counter. I believed them and started working but it turned out to be something else. The salary was 8000 rupees and we received tips. It was like this, if you sit with guests and drink a bottle of wine you get 100 rupees. You got tips in similar manner from those who smoked/ I had never smoked or consumed alcohol before.

The research highlights the need for interventions that ensure children’s safety and tackle the systemic factors perpetuating their involvement in the various worst forms of child labour, including the adult entertainment sector. To achieve that, the researchers argue that future interventions must work with the children themselves, and their complex realities, and provide support to their families to reduce poverty so that the children can live free from exploitation and realise their full potential.

Read more life stories of child workers