“Cry Harder!”: How Parents Traffic Their Children Through Forced Child Begging and Child Labor

Author

Abigail K. Bellocchio, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Sociology and Criminology

Advisor/Mentor

Shields, Christopher

Committee Member

Yang, Song

Second Committee Member

Gould, Kara

Third Committee Member

Long, Mary Beth

Abstract

This thesis examines the complex intersection of socioeconomic and cultural factors influencing forced child begging, a form of human trafficking, across different global regions. Through comprehensive literature analysis and examination of data from the Global K-anonymized Dataset from Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (2021), this research reveals a critical gap in human trafficking discourse: the absence of a unified definition and understanding of forced child begging. Despite affecting millions of children worldwide, forced child begging remains fragmented in academic literature, scattered across disciplines including child welfare, anthropology, and media studies rather than being centrally addressed in anti-trafficking frameworks. The research identifies that while street-based begging by older boys in regions like Senegal represents the most documented form, other manifestations such as internet-based exploitation through family vlogging and "kidfluencer" culture meet the same criteria yet receive minimal recognition. The study highlights inconsistencies in policy approaches, noting that NGOs like Anti-Slavery International, Polaris, and Freedom United provide the most comprehensive frameworks for addressing this issue. This thesis concludes that forced child begging constitutes a severe human rights violation that operates in plain sight, sustained by interconnected societal problems including poverty, inequality, and food insecurity. By establishing the need for definitional clarity and cross-disciplinary recognition, this research lays groundwork for more targeted interventions and reveals how human trafficking manifests in everyday environments, often unrecognized despite its pervasiveness.

Keywords

human trafficking; begging; child begging; child labor; internet exploitation; sociology

Citation

Bellocchio, A. K. (2025). “Cry Harder!”: How Parents Traffic Their Children Through Forced Child Begging and Child Labor. Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/sociuht/22