Boys turning to sex trade in Kerala district: Study

There has been a rapid increase in the number of boys engaging in sex work in Malappuram district in Kerala, a study has found.

K.P. Jayaraj, a PhD student at Jamia Millia Islamia in the national capital made the revelation during a seminar here Wednesday.

The report of the research project found that even though some boys only earn Rs.10- Rs.20 for each sexual encounter, there were others who earned about Rs.800 a day.

"These are boys who belong to the age group of 16 to 18 and come from well-to-do families; they are used mostly by those in the age group 20 to 30 years," Jayaraj, himself a native of Malappuram district, said. He added that he had been noticing the sexual activity of the boys since the time he was a student there.

The seminar was held under the title "Sexual violence against children", and organised by the National Alliance of Grassroots NGOs (NAGN), Shreyas Social Service Centre and Butterflies.

Jayaraj also pointed out that a pimp in his early 40s has been pushing more and more children into the trade in the past two decades. More than 2,000 children are estimated to be involved in the trade in the district at present.

State Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, who inaugurated the seminar, admitted to the sorry state of affairs and rued that children were falling to prey in the state's northern districts.