Trafficking and labour exploitation of the young are not simply an issue of basic survival strategies of the poor. The desperation of families to subject children - knowingly or not - to exploitation may be explained by lack of opportunities. Single mothers especially often have few alternatives, and male and female teenagers alike are drawn to the city lights. However, the problem goes beyond individual, economic constraints and ambitions. It is multi-faceted, large in magnitude and caused by a complex interplay of factors. Economic disparities between and within countries, the demand for cheap labour, the low status of women, the commercialization of their bodies and the increasingly adept criminal networks drive the demand side of the problem in the context of globalization. Poverty, the desire for a better life and consumer goods, political conflicts, natural disasters, compounded with lack of education and accurate information, legal loopholes and a host of other factors continue to increase the supply of the younger generations for various forms of exploitation.