They are vulnerable to many kinds of abuse, including sexual abuse. It is difficult for them to seek help not just because they are children but because they are often illegal immigrants and have false documents or no documents. Boys who are trafficked in armed conflicts are usually used as soldiers, while girls are usually forced to be servants who are often used sexually by the soldiers as well. Different cultural situations produce different types of exploitation. In India, for example, the caste system and a history of bonded labour mean that tribal and low-caste children are more likely to be trafficked than others.
Recruiters are often local people.
Trafficking routes change rapidly to adjust to changing economic or political circumstances or the opening of new markets. Trafficking becomes intensified in situations of war, natural disaster and generalised violation of human rights. Between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepali girls are trafficked every year across the border to India. Most of them end up as sex workers in brothels in Bombay and New Delhi. An estimated 200,000 Nepali women, most of them girls under 18, work in Indian cities.