Kampala — CHILDREN are increasingly being exploited for commercial sex, the minister of youth and children's affairs has said.

Maj. James Kinobe made the remarks while opening the 5th Annual International Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BNLF) partners Consultation Meeting on Young Children and HIV/Aids in Kampala yesterday.

He said whereas some of the children are forced into prostitution to earn a living, others have been coerced into the dehumanising trade by adults.

"Most children in prostitution are living with adults who trafficked them or those who bought them from traffickers," Maj. Kinobe said.

The five-day meeting that organised by Action for Children and BNLF, attracted participants from eight countries in East and Southern Africa.

Maj. Kinobe said prostitution was one of the major factors responsible for the rampant spread of HIV/Aids among young children.

He said it was sad that the children involved in commercial sex have set different rates for protected sex and unprotected sex.

Recent press reports have shown that in some places especially in slum areas, protected sex goes for as little as Shs200 while unprotected goes for about Shs5,000.

Maj. Kinobe said the difference in payment has forced more children to go in for unprotected sex. Maj. Kinobe said that whereas the government was aware of the vice, the laws to redress the vice were weak. About 56 per cent of Uganda's population of 30 million are children.

"We need a comprehensive law to handle prostitution so that young children are not lured into this vice as a way of generating income. The law should also take action against adult buyers and sellers of sex," he said.

He, however, said that once the Trafficking in Persons Bill and the Sexual Offences Bill are passed, human trafficking sexual exploitation including prostitution would be addressed.

Maj. Kinobe also said a bill to amend the Children's Statute is already in Parliament and it would be passed in six months time. He attributed the increasing cases of child prostitution to exposure of children to pornographic materials.