Impact on children

Years of conflict in Afghanistan have left the country in a state of extreme poverty and insecurity. As a result many children are forced onto the streets where they must work in illegal and dangerous conditions to provide for themselves and their families. Theft, drug smuggling and sex work expose children to physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Poverty has also increased the number of girls being accused of "honour crimes". Laws concerning child marriage and child abuse are poorly understood or not good enough at protecting the victim. Many girls who have actually been abused end up being accused of adultery (a criminal offence in Afghanistan), and are handed over to the authorities as a way of protecting family honour.

Afghan courts are not set up to deal with juvenile crime and its causes (there is a youth justice code but it is poorly understood and often not applied). So many of these children have ended up in adult prisons where they are exposed to further abuse from inmates and guards. They leave with no skills, no education and nowhere to turn to. Rejected by their families and society they often return to crime or are coerced into committing suicide. It is particularly common for young girls accused of a morality crime to set themselves on fire after being released from prison.