Youth Involvement in Prostitution: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography (continued)

Damgaard, K. (1995). Child prostitution: A necessary evil. Skolepsykologi, 32, 5-6.

This paper reviews research conducted by Dorit Otzen on child prostitution (aged 11-16). The research reveals social and political trends, such as sexual abuse, child pornography and the closure of psychiatric institutions for children. The “personal and social costs of increasing” child prostitution cases are also discussed.

Daum, K., & Dion, A. (1996). You are not alone: A support guide for parent and caregivers of sexually exploited children. Vancouver, B.C.

Parents with children involved in the sex trade experience considerable trauma and crisis. Funded by a Vancouver service agency, this guide provides information and support to parents and caregivers of sexually exploited youth. The guide offers background information about the reasons why some youth leave home and subsequently become involved in the sex trade. The authors suggest a family-centred approach that does not blame the child for becoming involved in prostitution. Parents of sexually exploited youth are encouraged to take responsibility for any mistakes they made prior to their child becoming involved in prostitution. The guide provides information on health-related issues for street-involved youth, and it clarifies legal issues and identifies available resources and services in British Columbia.

Daum, K. (1996). Position Paper on Law 212(4): A Time for Action. Vancouver, B.C.

Section 212(4) of the Criminal Code criminalizes obtaining, or attempt to obtain the sexual services of someone under the age of 18. However, following its enactment in 1988 the new youth procurement legislation was rarely enforced. This report was commissioned by the Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society (Vancouver) to examine the lack of charges under section 212(4). The author argues that street children and youth must be protected from the sexual advances of predators and pedophiles. The police, the courts and politicians are berated for not arresting customers of sexually procured youth, and for not fixing the problems associated with enforcing section s.212(4). The report advocates immediate intervention that includes policies against arresting sexually exploited youth under the communicating law, and amending s.212(4) to make it enforceable. The Ministry of Social Services is encouraged to launch sexual abuse investigations against men who buy or offer to buy sex from kids.

Daum, K. (1998). The sequel: A time for action 2. Vancouver, B.C.

This report is a follow-up to a 1996 document that criticizes the enforcement of s.212(4) (criminalizing purchasing or attempting to purchase the sexual services of a youth). The author acknowledges an increase since 1997 in the number of charges against “men who bought sex from a minor” in Vancouver; however, she still believes that not enough has been done to protect sexually exploited children. This report criticizes the newly appointed Provincial Prostitution Unit (an initiative to help solve problems associated with the enforcement of s.212(4) and other prostitution-related issues) for failing to adequately enforce s.212(4) in Vancouver. The report criticizes the lack of s.212(4) charges across Canada (166 total charges in 1996/97); a fact the author finds concerning when considering that 3,736 communicating charges (s.213) were administered across Canada during the same period. The author argues: “the statistics show that if you buy sex from a juvenile you are less likely to be charged than if you buy it from an adult.” The author advocates the development of adequate resources for sexually exploited children and youth, and recommends the use of existing sexual offence sections of the Criminal Code to protect sexually exploited children from sexual predators.

David, F. (2000). Child sex tourism (Report No. 156) Austrailia: Australian Institute of Criminology: Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice.

“Today, twenty-four countries around the world have legislation that makes ‘child sex tourism’, and its associated practices, a criminal conduct, even when the act concerned was committed overseas.” Sex tourists typically seek sexual services of children in developing countries. These children are vulnerable to sexual exploitation because of “poverty, social dislocation, family breakdown, and prior experiences of sexual victimisation, and/or homelessness.” This paper reviews the Australian Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act 1994, including a discussion of several cases prosecuted under this legislation. The Act makes it an offence to engage or participate in sexual intercourse/conduct with a child under the age of 18 while outside of Australia and to induce a child to engage in sexual intercourse “with a third person outside of Australia.” Examples of successful prosecutions include cases where the accused pled guilty, after police uncovered sexually explicit photos, and where overseas witnesses supplied evidence. Practical limitations of the legislation include problems securing overseas evidence and the difficulties associated with dealing with child witnesses. Another barrier to successful prosecutions is that most children and parents do not report cases of child sex tourism to authorities. The author concludes that there is no evidence of whether the Sex Tourism Act has any deterrent effect on “Australians determined to have sex with children overseas.”

Dawson, R. (1987). Child sexual abuse, juvenile prostitution and child pornography: The federal response. Journal of Child Care, 3, (2), 19-51.

This article reviews the federal government’s response to the Report on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth (the Badgley Report, 1984). Social service practitioners are encouraged to review the proposed changes and provide feedback to the relevant federal departments. Areas of interest for the author include changes affecting the criminal justice system, and the new responsibilities awarded to the Department of Health and Welfare in funding special child sexual abuse initiatives. The author notes the federal government’s proposal to create tough sanctions for pimps and customers of youth prostitutes, and that the federal government rejected the creation of a specific offence for juvenile prostitutes. Dawson criticizes the lack of funding allocated for prevention and intervention, citing the inadequacy of $5 million per year earmarked for all intervention programs.

Deis, M., Rokosh, K., Sagert, S., Robertson, B., & Kerr-Fitzsimmons, I. (2000). A historical act – Bill 1: Protection of children involved in prostitution.

This document reviews the history and scope of then Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act(PCHIP). In June 1996, the Alberta government convened the Task Force on Children Involved in Prostitution (the Forsyth Report). In response to the report, the government of Alberta introduced, among other initiatives, the PCHIP Act. The Act protects “children involved in prostitution and [help] them to end their involvement in prostitution.” The Act addresses youth prostitutes as “victims of sexual abuse” who need protection, and empowers officials to remove youth prostitutes from the street and place them in protective confinement for up to 72 hours, where they will receive emergency care and treatment and assessment. The Act also includes “legal penalties for johns and pimps” (guilty of child abuse). Youth can be apprehended through an order (in cases where the youth refuses community support or where programs cannot protect the youth) or without an order in emergency situations when the “child is in immediate danger.”

Deischer, R., Robinson, G., & Boyer, D. (1982). The adolescent male and emale prostitute. Pediatric Annals, 11, 819-825.

“This article describes the process of involvement in prostitution, highlights characteristics of adolescent male and female prostitution and offers practical suggestions for intervention by physicians.”

Dematteo, D., Major, C., Block, B., Coates, R., Fearon, M., Goldberg, E., King, S., Millson, M., O’Shaughnessy, M. & Read, S. (1999). Toronto street youth and HIV/AIDS: Prevalence, demographics, and risks. Journal of Adolescent Health, 25. 358-366.

This study provides information on the prevalence of HIV among street youth, identifies the HIV risk and prevention behaviors of youth, and discusses the factors contributing to street youth becoming infected with the disease. Respondents included youth between the ages of 14 and 25 who had been on the streets or using the services of a street youth agency in downtown Toronto. Six hundred and ninety-five interviews and linked samples (blood and saliva) were obtained (participants were asked to voluntarily provide blood and or saliva samples following the interview). Most youth reported welfare, family and panhandling as sources of income; however, 45% of the youth between 20-22 years of age reported prostitution as a means of subsistence. Males and females identified a desire for autonomy as the primary reason for leaving home. Females also stated difficulties with personal relationships as an underlying factor. In terms of sexual experience, 28% of the females indicated that their first sexual experience had been by rape or coercion. The study also reveals that individuals with an early sexual initiation were most likely to engage in prostitution. Among the youth involved in prostitution, 80% of the females and 67% of the males used condoms consistently. The authors suggest “street youth in Canada are at high risk of HIV infection with their risk increasing with age.” The authors further note that “social connections and supportive networks” are necessary to help keep youth off the streets. The socioeconomic changes that have occurred during the last decade have placed enormous burdens, both socially and psychologically, on many of today’s youth. These social factors must be taken into consideration when addressing the issue of street youth in Canada.

Department of Justice Canada. (1989). Street prostitution: Assessing the impact of the law. Synthesis report.Ottawa: author.

In December 1985, the federal government introduced Bill C-49, criminalizing communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution. Included in Bill C-49 was a mandatory review clause. In response, the Department of Justice Canada commissioned a series of regional evaluations (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax; with some consideration of prostitution-related activities in Regina, Winnipeg, London, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Trois-Riviere and Quebec City) to examine the effectiveness of Bill C-49 (the communicating law). This report provides a synthesis of these regional evaluations. Researchers were asked to examine the following: 1) “Has there been a reduction in the number and visibility of street prostitutes and their customers?” 2) “What have been the law’s other effects?” 3) “Have the police and the courts found the law easier to apply than previous legislation?” 4) “Has the law been applied equally to male and female prostitutes, and their customers?” Some of the findings included: 1) prostitutes charged with communicating for the first time received more severe sentences than did first time offender customers (this was not found in Montreal). 2) It was difficult to determine whether Bill C-49 clearly reduced the “magnitude of the street sex trade;” however, in Vancouver and Toronto the law had “virtually no success in moving prostitutes off the street.” 3) Street prostitution continued to be a “dangerous trade,” and in some jurisdictions prostitutes were displaced to areas of “more isolation, increasing the danger to them.” With respect to “juvenile prostitution,” the report noted a “divergence of opinion as to the extent of juvenile prostitution in Canada.” In some jurisdictions, criminal justice personnel believed that Bill C-49 helped them provide “control and structure in the lives of young people.” However, “for other more damaged youngsters, it simply meant further criminalization.”

Dorais, M. (1996). The coping strategy of boys who are victims of sexual abuse. Social Worker, 64, 75-88.

This research examines the nature and implications of coping strategies used by victims of child sexual abuse. The author posses the question: “What are the impacts of sexual aggression on the self-development of the male victims?” Relying on grounded theory and analytical induction, the author conducts qualitative interviews with 30 young men between the ages of 16 and 45 (average age 24.5) who were sexually victimized by older men when they were children (average age at time of victimization was 8.4). The results indicate that some youth were re-victimized (both passively and actively) through a belief that “abuse was an inescapable life circumstance.” A majority of respondents fantasized about abuse, and 33% had perpetrated abuse. The author cautions against the conclusion that “those who have been abused will become abusers;” instead he argues it represents a coping mechanism, or a “momentary resolution” to the abuse they experienced during their youth. Adopting the perpetrator role represents an effort “to confirm one’s masculinity.” For some, feelings associated with previous abuse resulted in delinquency, gay bashing, and “aggressive” prostitution (a form of misplaced revenge against the true aggressor). Some respondents indicated their victim experience was a source of “arousal and pleasure,” while others denied their victimization through the adoption of “conformist behaviours.” The research provides male childhood sexual abuse victims with an indication of the impact of their coping strategies in helping or preventing them from “escaping that experience.”

Duchesne, D. (1997). Street Prostitution in Canada. Juristat: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. 17 (2).

This Statistics Canada Juristat reports on the incidence of prostitution-related Criminal Code offences in the period 1977-1995. With respect to youth prostitution, the author notes that only a minority of prostitution-related offences in 1995 involved persons under the age of 18 (3%). “This small proportion of charges against youth (aged 12-17) may reflect a growing use of social services and other deterrence practices by police.” Further, the report notes an increased number of communicating charges against men, a change that may reflect an attempt to hold customers accountable for participating in prostitution.