Minors are being subjected to the worst form of child labor in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment industry

Although it is illegal for a child to work in the adult entertainment industry in Nepal, the very industry is serving as a ground for abuse, where minors especially girls are sexually harassed by customers and employers without the fear of facing any legal consequences.

Driven by financial necessities many young people work in the adult entertainment sector (AES) in the bustling capital of Kathmandu. Among them many are minors below the age of 18.

A major study conducted in collaboration with New Era, Nepal’s first non – government research organization, The John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York and the Freedom Fund, an organization dedicated to end modern day slavery in 2019, found that 17 percent of the people employed in the adult entertainment sector in Kathmandu were below the age of 18. Shockingly, 62 percent of the people involved in the adult entertainment sector began work when they were under the age of 18.