sexual exploitation

On Monday nights, a small group of parents gathers on the campus of the University of California-Davis. Each would give anything not to be there. What binds this group together is among every mother and father’s deepest fears.

As California seeks to better address the needs of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) in its child welfare system, providers in the state should be increasingly tailoring their services with a harm reduction approach.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón is asking new Mayor Mark Farrell to let him install a Human Trafficking Unit in his office, a proposal that gained the support of a key women’s group in the city.

Much of the advocacy and public health response to commercial sex and exploitation is focused on the victims, the majority of whom are female. But there is another way to address the issue, and that is to reduce demand by intervening with the pursuers of paid sex, a group almost entirely made up of men.

While the child sex trafficking narrative is often focused on the most vulnerable — foster youth, homeless kids and runaways — technology is making it easier than ever for traffickers to locate and communicate with any child who has access to a smartphone.

Victims of child sex trafficking are one of the most marginalized populations in the justice system. Every year, hundreds of child sexual assault victims run the risk of being arrested, locked up, and prosecuted because they are commercially sexually exploited, and forced into prostitution.

Maheen Kaleem worked on hundreds of cases involving commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) between 2008 and 2010 as a service provider in California’s Alameda County. During a telephone call with The Imprint, she recalled one conversation with a teenager who was referred to her while she was working with the Sexually Abused and Commercially Exploited Youth/Safe Place Alternative (SACEY/SPA) program.

As a children’s social worker I believe the term “child prostitute” is inaccurate, misleading and should be removed from the conversation when discussing issues of sexually trafficked children. Thankfully the Associated Press now agrees.

Late last year, Pennsylvania’s latest attempt to serve children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The reason, according to advocates, is not so much about a dearth of political will, but rather the fear that the law will provide blanket immunity to minors engaging in crimes not related to being exploited.