“What About Boys?” The sexual exploitation of boys and young men in Asia

Sexual exploitation of boys and young men continues to be an invisible problem with inadequate research to determine the prevalence and outcomes. Where research has been done then the focus has primarily on HIV prevalence and other risk factors including violence is not adequately considered. Why is this? This research looks at two locations in Mumbai, India and Phnom Penh, Cambodia where some base line data has been obtained. Around 50 boys in Phnom Penh and 102 boys in Mumbai were interviewed. The results demonstrate a level of vulnerability that dispels the myth that sexual exploitation of boys is vastly different than girls. Many are doing it because they feel they have no alternative to earn an income and want to provide for their families similar to women and girls. However boys have the added stresses of hiding what they are doing from the very communities that could provide this support. In Mumbai the base line research was followed up following opportunities for the boys to do a training program to see whether an adequately paid job could lead to alternative futures for masseur boys and if not, why not