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Although Bangladesh is a constitutionally Islamic country, some brothels are regulated by state law. But these brothels are located in the suburbs, and there were legal brothels around the capital, which no longer exist. Thus, prostitution is observed in a variety of ways, including in residential hotels, resorts, homes, and open spaces. As prostitution and trafficking are inseparable, this paper adopts a quantitative approach to measure the socioeconomic variables associated with prostitution and trafficking in children in the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data for this study were collected from 385 respondents, and the questionnaire format was open-ended. The proposed conceptual model is presented in a way that includes sociocultural and economic factors influencing prostitution. To examine the model, a three-level research design was applied. The sociodemographic data of the respondents were collected and analyzed in this study. This study finds that the significant economic factors are poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Moreover, sociocultural variables are closely associated with rape, harassment, divorce, insufficient support from household members, living in vulnerable conditions, social instability, lifestyle, and gender violence. These findings emphasize the need to implement existing anti-trafficking laws and raise awareness of children in Bangladesh to stop child trafficking for sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on empirical research to develop understandings of child prostitution, previously theorised on the basis of children's rights, feminist, and structure/agency debates, largely ignoring children's own understandings of their involvement in prostitution. Conducted in Malawi, which is one of the economically poorest countries in the world, the study goes to the heart of questions of inequality and child protection. Within a participatory research framework, nineteen girls and young women used visual methods to generate images representing their experiences of prostitution. Individual and group discussions were used to illuminate the meanings and significance of their images. With the exception of the youngest, participants understood their initial involvement in prostitution as a means of survival in the face of poverty and/or parental death, or escape from violent relationships, experiences that were subsequently mirrored by exploitation and violence within prostitution. Using the lens of the capability approach, we capture the complexity of child prostitution, demonstrating the ambiguous agency of participants in the face of deeply embedded patriarchal cultural norms that constrained their choices and limited their freedom to pursue valued lives. We end by reflecting critically on the theoretical and methodological contributions of the study, making policy and practice recommendations and identifying opportunities for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]