It Can Happen To Anyone!

Preamble

It is not a very visible problem in our community, but each year, youths as young as 13 years are recruited to work in the sex trade. They do it because they are lured by promises of glamour and excitement, because they can sell their bodies for the security of a place to stay or food to eat, or because they have a drug habit or alcohol problem they must feed. The life they encounter on the street and in the sex trade is anything but glamourous and secure. Beatings and rape, drug and alcohol addiction, sexually transmitted diseases such HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea , and unwanted pregnancy await many of them. In 2000, Burnaby social service agencies tracked 35 local young people who were either known or suspected to be working in the sex trade, or who were highly at-risk to be recruited. That figure equates to one whole school classroom of youths who are experiencing or are likely to experience exploitation and abuse in the child sex trade!

Stemming the tide of young people lured into the commercial sex trade will take a co-operative effort on the part of all sectors of the community. Public education is an essential first step in raising the awareness of this community issue; awareness is a necessary prerequisite to action. The Burnaby-New Westminster Task Force on the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth has prepared this information to help raise public awareness of this issue. The Task Force is led by the City of Burnaby and has representation from over twenty Burnaby agencies, including the Burnaby School District, the Burnaby RCMP, Simon Fraser Health Region, several Provincial ministries, and a number of non-profit service providers. For more information about the work of the Task Force, call the Burnaby Planning Department at 604.294.7400.

What is the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth in the Sex Trade?

Most people are familiar with the term "prostitution" which means the trading of sex for money or anything else - food, a place to stay, alcohol or drugs, cigarettes, a ride somewhere, and so on. The less familiar term - "sex trade" - is applied to a large and lucrative industry which includes prostitution, but also other activities such as pornography, stripping, and phone sex. Children and youth who are involved in the sex trade are sexually exploited. They are being victimized and abused by predators who either buy sex from them or profit from their sex trade activities.

Only a small proportion of the young people lured into the sex trade work on the streets. The rest work in indoor or "hidden" venues such as massage parlours, escort agencies, health enhancement centres, pornographic film studios, phone sex lines, or behind the closed doors of private homes or "trick pads".

Who Is At Risk for Being Recruited Into the Sex Trade?

It can happen to anyone!

Youth from a wide range of social, economic, and cultural backgrounds are targeted and recruited into the sex trade. However, runaways and troubled youths are the most vulnerable. The most common traits or circumstances which make a young person vulnerable to recruitment are:

• low self-esteem
• a personal history of sexual, physical or emotional abuse or other trauma
• feelings of insecurity or "not belonging"
• a personal history of drug or alcohol abuse
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrom/Effect or learning disorders such as dyslexia or attention deficit disorder (ADD)

Both girls and boys are sexually exploited in the sex trade.

How Do Children and Youth Get Lured Into the Sex Trade?

Children and youth can be lured into the sex trade in a number of ways.

A child or youth may be "befriended" by an older person - usually a man - who poses as a boyfriend. This "boyfriend" is really a pimp, and intends to live off the earnings of the young person. The pimp showers the young person with compliments, gifts, or free drugs and alcohol and takes her/him to parties and other exciting events. The pimp gradually gains emotional - and sometimes physical - control over the young person, and manipulates or forces her/him to sell sex in order to pay for the gifts.

Alternatively, a child or youth may be "befriended" by someone her/his own age who is recruiting for a pimp. This street-wise recruiter gains the child or youth's trust, and entices her/him with gifts and stories of the exciting, glamorous life on the streets. Eventually the child or youth is introduced to the pimp - and the process unfolds as described above.

Children and youth are approached by pimps and recruiters in any public place where youth tend to gather including schools and school grounds, bus loops and transit stations, group homes, social gathering places such as mall food fairs, coffee shops, pool halls and nightclubs, and raves.

Children and youth may also be recruited through the Internet. The Internet is an extremely powerful tool for pimps, recruiters and pedophiles who want to sexually abuse and exploit children and youth because "chat rooms" allow them to hide their identity and pose as peers. Internet friendships are established, which lead to a face-to-face meeting with the child or youth, and the process described above is repeated.

What Are the Clues That a Young Person Might Be Being Recruited Into the Sex Trade?

We all need to be on the lookout for signs that a young person is being targeted or recruited into the sex trade. The earlier we can intervene, the better are our chances of preventing recruitment. Things to watch for are changes in behaviour and attitude, routine, appearance and language.

Changes in Behaviour and Attitude

• being extremely protective about a new boyfriend
• withdrawing from home life

Changes in Routine

• suddenly dropping old friends for a new group
• having a new boyfriend who is much older
• having unexplained money
• coming home drunk or on drugs repeatedly

Changes in Appearance

• having unexplained new and expensive clothing and trinkets
• having bruises on the body

Changes in Language

• bragging about pimps, prostitutes and gangs
• adopting slang and crude street talk
• using slang code to hide the true meaning of conversations
• adopting a street name eg. Ho, Turnout, Main, Ice, Tower

One or two warning signs on their own are probably not significant. However, if a young person you know exhibits several of the signs, he or she may need help. Connect with other people who are involved with the young person to compare notes. Have they noticed similar changes? Are there personal traits or circumstances which make the young person more vulnerable?

How Can You Help?

Educate Yourself

• read, attend workshops, keep informed of developments in your community. Learn to recognize the warning signs for recruitment and sexual exploitation.
• take action quickly by calling a service providing agency or the police if you suspect a child you know is being recruited into the sex trade.
• if you discover that your child is being sexually exploited, report it immediately to your local police.
• don't buy or sell merchandise such as tee-shirts or bumper stickers that support or trivialize pimps and their activities.
• request preventive programs in your child's school.

Spread the Word

• tell others what you have learned about this problem.

Educate Your Children

• teach them how to protect themselves and connect them with resources if they need help.
• make sure your sons know it's not cool to buy sex or to be a pimp.

Lobby for Change

• pressure your local Member of Parliament (MP) for:
  • tougher laws against pimps and johns
  • more resources for families and for health care and job training for youth
  • raising of the age of consent to 16
  • action on child poverty.
• pressure your local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for:
  • more provincial services for families and high-risk youth, including safe houses, detox facilities, counselling, health services, life skills training, and affordable education.
  • priority action on youth issues.

Provide Financial Support

• make donations to groups or projects that focus on youth or high-risk youth.
• encourage groups or service clubs you are a member of to focus on projects for high-risk youth. Possibilities include fundraising for safe houses, youth detox facilities, and safety vans for patrolling prostitution strolls.
• if you own or manage a business, make in-kind donations such as printing, and loans of equipment for presentations to projects and Task Force work.

Work With Others in Your Community

Where Can You Turn for Help in Burnaby and New Westminster?