A/HRC/43/40 on prevention measures, effective accountability mechanisms and evidence- and resultsbased rehabilitation programmes. 2. The impact of harmful social norms and practices 66. Patriarchal structures that promote male sexual domination are a fundamental factor driving the sale and sexual exploitation of girls, who constitute the majority of child victims. Gender stereotypes around masculinity also adversely affect boys, with little attention given to their possible vulnerability to sexual exploitation. While a significant proportion of children depicted in online child sexual abuse material are boys, few States have developed adequate child protection systems to support the rehabilitation and recovery of boys. 47 67. Gender discrimination is further compounded by the inherent power imbalance between children and adults. Children are often not considered as rights holders and are sometimes even viewed as property. Furthermore, the increasing social acceptance of early sexualization is exacerbated by the widespread dissemination of child sexual abuse material on the Internet and the production of highly realistic representations of non-existing children.48 This objectification of children comforts offenders in their actions. 68. In addition, racism and discrimination normalize violence against the most vulnerable. Some offenders, in particular in the context of travel and tourism, target children of a different ethnicity because they believe that the local culture condones the sexual exploitation of children. Caste-based systems or similarly entrenched inequities enable the offender to justify the sexual exploitation of children from lower castes or groups. Moreover, many cases of domestic illegal adoption have been committed as a form of discrimination against minorities or indigenous communities. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is also a source of demand, since the sexual exploitation of homosexual or transgender children may be seen in certain contexts as acceptable. Furthermore, disability may constitute a crucial factor that heightens the risk of being subjected to sale and sexual exploitation for girls and boys. 69. The culture of silence surrounding these crimes is even more prevalent in the context of closed communities with inherent imbalance in power dynamics between children and adults, such as faith-based organizations or sports clubs. 70. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that, as also illustrated in several submissions provided by various stakeholders, officials responsible for protecting vulnerable children are often seen as displaying harmful attitudes, including disrespect and disbelief towards the plight of child victims, thus preventing accountability and perpetuating the impunity. 49 71. The Special Rapporteur in 2014 observed that communities tended to cope with some of the challenges that they faced by increasing their social tolerance of child sexual exploitation, resulting in the normalization and permissibility of the crime (A/HRC/25/48, para. 48). In general, that trend continues today. 3. Poverty as driver of sale and sexual exploitation of children 72. Poverty is a major root cause of crimes related to the sale and sexual exploitation of children, and is strongly linked with other factors such as lack of education, inadequate family protection, migration and displacement and living in rural areas or slums. 50 Children from poor families may also be particularly affected by inequality, social exclusion and discrimination. 73. In these circumstances, children are at a greater risk of being sold or trafficked to provide family income. In some cases, parents, driven by poverty and lack of information, sell their children to traffickers, thereby putting them in situations of forced labour, child marriage, prostitution, forced begging or sexual abuse and exploitation facilitated by ICT. Furthermore, children living in orphanages or those working on the streets or placed in 47 48 49 50 12 See the submission from ECPAT UK. ABC, “SA government to support ban on child-like sex dolls”, 12 September 2019. UNICEF, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Survey on Justice for Children in Kazakhstan (2016) (on file). See also the submission from the Protector of Citizens of Serbia. See the submissions from Italy, Guatemala, the South African Human Rights Commission and others.