VIOLENCE EXPERIENCED BY TRAFFICKED CHILDREN IN METEMA TOWN, NORTH-WESTERN ETHIOPIA: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Child trafficking remains a critical yet under-examined dimension of human rights violations in Ethiopian border communities. This study investigates the structural causes, key actors, and forms of violence associated with internal child trafficking in Metema, a major border and transit town in north-western Ethiopia. Employing a qualitative case study design, data were generated through in-depth interviews with trafficked children, key informant interviews with institutional representatives, focus group discussions with community members, and secondary document analysis. Findings reveal that trafficking is not an isolated criminal event but a structurally mediated process shaped by intersecting systems of economic deprivation, relational recruitment networks, and institutional failure. Trafficked children, predominantly adolescent girls, experience multiple and compounding forms of violence, including economic exploitation, physical and sexual abuse, psychological harm, and enforced social isolation. The study contributes empirically grounded, context-specific evidence to the fields of social work and migration studies, and offers implications for trauma-informed practice, anti-trafficking policy, and child protection in border settings.