The Issue Of Child Prostitution

Children within the United States who are being trafficked are part of what is called, domestic minor sex trafficking. These adolescents are citizens who have been forced, coerced, or misled to become a part of the commercial sex industry. Some of the most common ways to force minors into trafficking is through exotic dancing also known as stripping, brothels, porn, escorting, and massage services just to name a few (Minor Domestic Sex Trafficking). It is disturbing to know that there are children who are going through this. In order to create prevention and intervention programs for trafficking, it is important to understand what a sex trafficker is and the strategies they use to recruit children.

The sex trade is not a choice; there many situational factors contributing as to how these women and children got into the sex trade. Most of the women and children who are bought and trafficked into this industry are vulnerable or have a background of abuse and neglect (4425 Hossain). Exploiters use the vulnerability to their advantage by making promises of stability and love to lure their victims in. Many

“ She was just seventeen when she got into prostitution- child trafficking- but she didn’t know she was a victim at the time. She had been beaten and raped by her father since she was twelve years old.” (Zhai Yun, 1.) Young victims of youth sex trafficking are not just kidnapped by unknown people into this. It can be by their father, mother, brother, or sister. It can be forced upon them by people who have come into their life claiming they can make it better. When in reality it just makes it worse. They have no idea what they are getting into and what is going to happen to them. They are fed with lies and false pretentions of what is going to happen. They are caught in a trap that is hard to get out of. Often they are to scared to try to run or be rescued. They just do what they are told so that they live or so their loved ones live.

Human trafficking affects our children and our schools more than most realize. It is estimated that more than 200,000 American children are trafficked each year in America. Victims of trafficking often come from vulnerable populations, including migrants, oppressed or marginalized groups, runaways or displaced persons, and the poor (Talati). The children most likely to be targeted by traffickers are those not living with their parents, who are vulnerable to coerced labor exploitation, domestic servitude, or prostitution. Sex traffickers target children because of their vulnerability and gullibility, as well as the market demand for young victims. Studies have shown that it is not just high school children at risk, demonstrating that pimps prey on victims as young as 12 years old. Victims

Sex trafficking is a problem that is happening and occurring all over the world. Many families and individuals suffer due to sex trafficking. Many people are not even aware of what it really is. Sex trafficking is when young girls, as young as five or six, get kidnapped and are used for the sexual pleasure of others with a profit, or are sold as sex slaves to other people. The official definition is, “Human sex trafficking is a form of slavery and involuntary servitude resulting in grave human rights violations. Sex trafficking involves individuals profiting from the sexual exploitation of others and has severe physical and psychological consequences for its victims.” (The

play a role in sex trafficking and the sex industry stem from actions taken on individual, national, and international levels, and therefore occur within and outside the borders of a country. Therefore, the geographical distribution and occurrence of sex trafficking is based on many compounding factors including those of gender inequality, economic stability or lack thereof, and supply and demand. Gender inequality plays a large role in sex trafficking and the sex industry, itself. Women and children are the main victims, but there is a growing number of boys and young men being targeted in areas where sex tourism is high, such as Sri Lanka.

prostitution has became one of the leading roles in recruiting young children to serve as a drug

There were very few sex workers whom I talked to who would actually choose this line of work if they felt they had a choice and certainly, the trafficking of minors has almost everything to do with poverty. A member of my production team asked one of our experts while we were in India how families could possibly sell their own daughters into the sex industry. And he told us -- not to excuse the trafficking, but as a way to explain it -- “...no one can understand unless you’re in a situation facing the starvation of your entire family: your wife, your sons, your other daughters.” ([PDF] by Zana Briski) I feel the same as Zana that many prostitutes wouldn’t choose this work, there is or was a reason for this

Would you want your daughter out on the street looking for men to take them back to their place? The underage sex trade had been happening for many years, yet we as a society haven’t stepped in and stopped this. They do this from most peer pressure and money for their families, so they feel the need to go out and do this. Sri Lanka has the highest percentage of child prostitution. Not only third world countries are being affected USA and Canada are coming fourth and fifth for the most child prostitution. In between is Thailand, were child sex tourism goes international which they're known for doing so. If this were to carry on, these girls will be introduced to drugs, violence, sexual and verbal abuse, and depression. There is an estimated 13 million children who are victims to sex trafficking. As they have no say and are underage this is an account of rape. Offering these young girls schooling, so they can earn money for there families better

Child Prostitution is one of the most overlooked injustice for children. These poor kids live in a country where the courts are more worried about individual rights instead of the well-being of children who have lost their innocence. The trade of human beings, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery or forced labor is known as Human Trafficking. This type of trade for sex is a very lucrative industry, coming second to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world. When most Americans hear the words “sex trafficking,” they think Thailand, Africa, and Eastern Europe. This systematical belief that the United States does not endure such behavior is a communal afterthought and considered incredulous to many citizens. Nevertheless, prostitution is a growing

The children are enslaved as free labor and are of the victims of sexual abuse as well. According to Andrea Bertone and Christina Arnold, founders of the organization Prevent Human Trafficking, “Work for trafficked victims consists of exploitation, debt bondage, low to no wages, excessive hours, unsafe conditions. Often victims see themselves as being no worse off than if they had stayed home” (Arnold 31). Despite the horrible conditions most victims don’t even realize the gravity of their situation and fall into a sense of appeasement.

Imagine a four year old girl growing up in contemporary Cambodia. Each morning she wakes up miles from home, homesick and scared. She is forced to beg for money for the brothel that she belongs to, and all of her earnings go straight to her master. Then, that night, about seven men come to the brothel. These men, some as old as fifty, often pay as little as two dollars to partake in sexual intercourse with these school-aged children. The toddlers enslaved in the horrific sex trade are forever stripped of their purity, making human trafficking a major issue in present day Cambodia. Over 30,000 children are sexually exploited annually (“Children for Sale”), and millions have been forced into human trafficking

Prostitution is defined as the act of “providing or receiving sexual acts, between a prostitute and a client, in exchange for money or some other form of remuneration” (Hock 557). The idea of exchanging sex for valuables has been around since the beginning of human society. The first reported data about prostitution was reported around 3000 B.C.E in one of the first known civilizations, Mesopotamia (Caraboi and Fierbinteanu 362). It is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” Today, even though prostitution is illegal in most parts of the world, it is still prevalent worldwide with different ways to exchange sexual services for payment and many different types of prostitutes. One of these types of prostitutes are brothel workers; brothel workers work in “a house of prostitution,” a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized or is legalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today.

Girls ages 14-17 were forced into work as domestic servants but it wasn’t uncommon to find many girls as young as 8 or 9 years of age (“Incidence and Nature of Child Labor” 2). Many of these children typically worked a 12-16 hour day and seven days a week (“Incidence and Nature of Child Trafficking” 2). This evidence shows this crisis is on the rise and as the years go by the children are getting younger and younger.

Child prostitution is prostitution that involves exploiting children for a sexual act. The word usually refers to prostitution of a minor, or someone who is under the legal age of consent. In most places child prostitution is illegal, but not all. Sex trafficking is usually the first step to child prostitution. Sex trafficking is when a child is kidnapped or tricked into becoming involved in the black market sex trade or “survival sex.” “Survival sex” is when a child forced to engage in sexual acts to obtain basic life essentials.