At a time when society seems to be waking up to the issue of sexual violence inflicted on children, let's talk about a closely related phenomenon: child prostitution. Confronted first and foremost with this phenomenon, child protection services are attempting, alone and without support from public authorities, to mobilize against it. The 46th CNAEMO conference on "Sex Exploitation of Minors in Danger" provided an opportunity to learn more; here's a brief recap.
To understand, first, some figures. Child prostitution affects 9 girls for every 1 boy, so I will use the feminine form in this article. 11,000 minors were affected in 2024; today, there are around 20,000 according to ACPE[1]. This is a phenomenon that affects all social classes, but it is worth noting that two-thirds of the minors involved come from foster homes. Child prostitution is on the rise (a 140% increase in the number of people involved between 2016 and 2024), and it is occurring at increasingly younger ages. The average age of entry into prostitution is between 13 and 14, but some children are confronted with it as early as the end of primary school. Of all victims of pimping in France, 42% are minors. Finally, the paths out of prostitution are particularly arduous for young people, and professionals estimate that 5 to 7 support sessions are generally necessary to guide them towards another path.
As with adults, the thorny question of how to name these things arises. "Child prostitution" is a generic and immediately understandable term, but one with which the young people involved do not identify and which fails to describe the full diversity of paid sexual practices.
Different recruitment methods
The terms "sex exploitation" or "sex torture" are also sometimes used. Professionals prefer to speak of "sexual exploitation," a term much more accepted by young people because it is more neutral. To reach these young people, it is crucial to restore their agency, that is, to empower them to act and exist. This begins first and foremost with using words, particularly the word "exploitation," which they may have experienced their entire lives, for example, within their families.
But regardless of the terminology used, it is essential to remember that a minor who engages in prostitution is, above all, a minor in danger within a system designed for the profit of adults, and that consequently, no notion of consent can be invoked in this context.
The entry of minors into prostitution can occur in several ways. First, there is the most well-known method: that of the "lover boy," men who seduce young girls and then trap them in a relationship of control, becoming their pimp. Then there are the recruitment networks organized within shelters, where young people already involved in prostitution are placed in these settings so they can recruit other young people. Some of these young people have been taken to parties by recruiters, where they are filmed without their knowledge and are now being blackmailed with threats of the video being made public.
Translation of the sign: "Let's defend our girls' right to choose! Their future depends on it!"
Credits: Lauren Mitchell
Finally, there is the issue of young people who fall into prostitution because of a "debt" created by drug use or trafficking. Indeed, in large cities, the lines between drug trafficking and child prostitution are very blurred. Some young women are initially recruited to sell drugs, then have their merchandise stolen (sometimes by their own supplier) and are thus forced to recoup their losses through sexual services. Or simply, young women who turn to prostitution to pay for their drug use.
It should be noted that drug use is almost a constant feature of underage prostitution, and that this prostitution serves several purposes: to numb themselves to avoid feeling their bodies, to dissociate (that is, to cut themselves off from feelings and emotions too intense to protect themselves), and to seek sexual performance.
A consequence of patriarchal oppression...
The sexual exploitation of minors is not a phenomenon without cause. It is a direct consequence of the experiences of patriarchy and capitalism that children and adolescents endure. According to professionals working in the field, 100% of minors who prostitute themselves have been victims of violence in their lives. The violence and sexual abuse perpetrated by adults against children have significant psycho-emotional consequences that hinder a child's healthy and secure development. Abused children then experience themselves as objects and not as subjects, which leads to a lack of self-esteem and profound emotional deprivation. In this context, prostitution can be analyzed as a form of self-harm (like self-mutilation) where the trauma is reenacted until it is understood and acknowledged.
Besides the ongoing nature of physical or sexual violence, other similar characteristics are found in the profiles of young people involved in prostitution: school bullying, a victim status not recognized by family or society, isolation, and relationship and family difficulties.
...and capitalist
The school system is also a crucial risk factor for the sexual exploitation of minors. Indeed, since entry into prostitution often occurs through a third party (a friend, a boyfriend, a bully, etc.), school can be the place where teenagers meet this third party who triggers the shift towards illegal spheres (prostitution or drugs, which overlap). From this point of connection to these two worlds, young people sometimes abandon their schooling and become completely immersed in prostitution, while others maintain their education alongside a "side activity."
Because, of course, money is central to prostitution. The precariousness of their social environment and the fact that schools fail to fulfill their role of ensuring equal opportunities push many young people towards the drug economy and prostitution.
This vulnerability is even more pronounced among young people in the child welfare system (ASE), due to their isolation, multiple traumas, and financial insecurity. The frustration generated by social media and consumer society leads young people to find solutions to their needs where adults often remain blind, deaf, or powerless.
Myriam (UCL Marseille)
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[1]Action Against Child Prostitution, an association fighting against the sexual exploitation of minors since 1986.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Etat-des-lieux-L-exploitation-sexuelle-organisee-des-mineures-en-France
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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