The new route recruiters are using to target children for sex trade

Ghanaian children are increasingly being recruited into the commercial sex trade through social media platforms, particularly TikTok, amid growing concerns over sexual exploitation in mining communities. Speaking on Channel One TV on September 16, 2026, James Kofi Annan, founder of Challenging Heights, an anti-trafficking organisation, described the trend as worrying. He said, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, 47 victims of sexual exploitation were recently rescued from six hotspots around Goaso in the Ahafo Region. Annan noted that 26 of the victims were handed over to Challenging Heights for rehabilitation and recovery, including 16 who are believed to be under the age of 18. “Over the weekend [we] rescued 47 victims of sexual exploitation in the Goaso areas. Six hotspots were identified. “Out of the 47 girls who were rescued, 26 of them were handed over to Challenging Heights for rehabilitation and recovery purposes. And out of the 26 that were handed over to Challenging Heights, 16 of them are believed to be under the age of 18,” he noted. Annan said all 16 children had been subjected to sexual exploitation. He said the latest rescue operation forms part of a wider pattern recorded by the organisation over the past year. Child Labour: CHRAJ flags over 1.1 million children in economic activity “We are seeing a very worrying trend. As you can see, over the last one year alone Challenging Heights, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, has rescued 230 girls from sexual exploitation,” he said. According to Annan, the organisation has also observed a shift in the profile of those being recruited into the sex trade. He said the organisation was initially concerned about the involvement of Nigerian nationals but had now identified the active recruitment of Ghanaian girls. “And now as we thought it was all Nigerians, we are now seeing an active recruitment of Ghanaians, Ghanaian girls into the sex trade in the mining communities and babies, a lot of children who get pregnant are forced to sell their babies when they get pregnant, or their children are taken away from them,” he noted. He further identified social media, particularly TikTok, as an emerging avenue through which children are being targeted and recruited for sexual exploitation. “I have seen a worrying trend of young people on social media, especially TikTok, where these girls are recruited and forced into prostitution in the mining areas,” he added. JKB/BAI Inside Zonda Tec’s Ultra-Modern Car Assembly Plant in Ghana Source: www.ghanaweb.com
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