Sunday Mass in Tarawa

More than 25 per cent of Oceania's population is believed to be living in poverty in Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Kiribati is an area which is showing signs of the emergence of urban poverty and it is therefore, becoming increasing vulnerable to exploitation of the ocean and sexual exploitation as the world comes to fish in the surrounding waters. Pacific nations are at a disadvantage since they cannot effectively patrol their vast maritime areas and the fish are migratory, not stationary. Many island states do not have the manpower, resources or economies of scale to maximize returns on fishing and this leaves them vulnerable to exploitation by big commercial fishing fleets. The poverty created, in turn fuels the sex trade which is subsidized by the foreign fishermen working in the area. A massive and ever increasing youth population, crowded housing conditions, lack of employment and educational opportunities has forced many children to drop out of school early. This leaves them without skills, opportunities or income, but with plenty of time. The conditions have left many children and young people vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation, either for cash, transport, food or other material goods. A recent report about Kiribati's prostitution problem reported that Kiribati teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 said that fishermen solicited them in the bars. They normally received cash, cigarettes, bottles of alcohol or clothes for sexual services. There exists no criminal provision for overseas child sex tourism and prostitution in the country's laws.