Ethiopia is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Girls from Ethiopia's impoverished rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude and prostitution within the country, while boys are subjected to forced labor in traditional weaving, construction, agriculture, and street vending.
Addis Ababa's central market is the site of numerous brothels, where girls as young as 8 years old are exploited in prostitution. Ethiopian girls are exploited in domestic servitude and prostitution in neighboring African countries — particularly Sudan — and the Middle East.
Ethiopian boys are subjected to forced labor in Djibouti as shop assistants, errand boys, domestic workers, thieves, and street beggars. Young people from Ethiopia's vast rural areas are aggressively recruited with promises of a better life and are likely targeted because of the demand for cheap labor in the Middle East; many are subsequently subjected to forced labor.
Child sex tourism is a growing problem in major tourist hubs, including Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Hawassa, and Bishoftu; reports identify both foreign and domestic perpetrators, with links to local hotels, brokers, and taxi drivers.
Officials reported up to 1, Ethiopians departed daily as part of the legal migration process in search of better economic opportunities. Many young Ethiopians transit through Djibouti, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, and increasingly Yemen, seeking work in the Middle East; some are exploited in these transit countries.
