Delinquency is a situation whereby a person below the age of 18 years engages in activities that are considered to be crimes. For a young person to engage in delinquent behavior, the family has a substantial role to play in it because it is the basic moral builder for a person. How is the family involved? According to Holman (2007), the family is the foundation of human society. Children who are not supported at home or those who grow up in unstable families are at a greater risk of becoming delinquent. As a socializing unit, the family teaches us to control deviant behavior and accept the rights of others. Inculcating these positive values to a child from the early years till the adolescent stage will be instrumental in preventing delinquent behavior. If the opposite values of aggressiveness, violence and antisocial behavior are encountered in the family, a child may end up becoming delinquent.
Family behavior like disciplining and communication may affect an adolescent. Those youths who are disciplined more harshly and thoroughly may be delinquent as they may feel they are not loved. Parents should also communicate to their children and know where they are and who their peers are. Single parent families especially the one with the mother only is more likely to have children with deviant behavior than their counterparts with both parents. Children who witness marital discord and parent divorce are more likely to be delinquent (Shepard, 2004).
As a community, how should we respond to child maltreatment? Maltreatment refers to the emotional, physical or social neglect of a child. The people in the community should be a voice for the vulnerable group. Early signs of maltreatment should be observed and reported to the relevant authorities. Financial support could also be of help to those who are able to gain from it. Counseling services can be provided too for those who could be emotionally or psychologically disturbed. Young parents could also be given lessons on proper parenting skills.
In summary, the Focus on Delinquency article on Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitations states that; some of the contributing factors to human trafficking, trafficking is the transportation of women, girls and even young boys through the use of force, coercion or fraud for the purpose of commercial or sexual exploitation are the global economy and the relaxation of cooperate boundaries. Most of the women transported are often poor and yearn for a better life that they hope to get. Even those trafficked for purposes of legitimate work are violated. They may not know the language being spoken there or any legal sources that could help them.
Sex tourism is on the rise with wealthy young men engaging in sexual activities with the trafficked individuals. Many children are driven into prostitution by poverty, earlier sexual abuse or even family obligation as some men offer financial support to their families.
Some countries have enforced laws curbing their citizens from engaging in sexual activities with minors when they travel. This is difficult due to jurisdiction boundaries. Travel documents have been withheld to control the young women from travelling. The psychological manipulation of the traffickers who can be arrested if they torture victims has also been enacted. All these measures have been put in to curb sexual exploitation and trafficking but they are yet to be effective.