More than three in four migrants between the ages of 14 and 24 report being
subjected to forced labor, sexual abuse, child marriage and other forms of exploitation, the UN's children and migration agencies said in a study published Tuesday.
However,
the report noted that children from sub-Saharan Africa are most at risk
of exploitation, with 83 percent of those attempting to reach Europe
via Libya having experienced some form of abuse.
Read more: Two years since Germany opened its border to refugees: A chronology
"If
you try to run, they shoot you. If you stop working, they beat," the
report quoted Aimamo, a 16-year-old unaccompanied minor from Gambia, as
saying. "We were just like slaves."
The UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said
children from outside central and southern Africa are also subjected to
exploitation, but to a lesser extent, with 56 percent reporting such
incidents.
Read more: Migrants: More than 75 percent of Europe-bound youth face exploitation | News | DW | 12.09.2017