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Signs of Street
Involvement
- Most will
have a definite change in personality
- Will acquire
new friends
- Grades may
drop at school
- Keeping late
hours
- Negative attitude
towards authority
- Skipping school
- Graffiti
on clothes or in their bedrooms
- Change in
clothing style
- Wearing gang
colours
- Using various
insignias, tattoos, emblems
- Talking admirably
about gangs, the street etc.
- Curfew violations,
unexplained absences,
- A constant
breaking of family rules
- Lying, keeping
secrets, acting sneaky
- Unusual sleepiness,
and tiredness
- Getting gifts
and letters that are unexplained
- Secretive
use of the telephone
- May openly
proclaim to be of the street
(MacInnes, 1994).
Child prostitution
is child abuse (MacInnes, 1994).
Types of Risks
this population faces
- The child
prostitute is at risk of physical/ medical, emotional,
cognitive, legal and social difficulties.
Physical &
Sexual Risks
- Some of the
most common physical/medical problems the child prostitute
is at risk for are: trauma, beatings, sexually transmitted
diseases, skin disorders, intestinal parasites, reproductive
tract dysfunction, malnutrition and pregnancy
Psychological
- High incidence
of drug and alcohol abuse (probably 99% in Calgary)
- Unresolved
problems from childhood
- Deep depression,
actual and attempted suicide, insecurity, and low self
esteem
Economic
- The majority
of prostitutes live in poverty
- Their money
either supports their drug dependencies or goes to their
pimps
Families
- Families
of prostitute and their children are at risk
- Families of
johns' - breakdown of marriage (80% of clients are married
men)
- Spouse of
john's are at risk for contracting disease.
Needs of this
High Risk Population - Implications for health care
- Health promotion
and education
- Health and
welfare of the prostitutes including drug and alcohol
abuse treatment
- Controlling
the spread of AIDS and STD's
- Child welfare
concerns in relation to children of the prostitutes
- Child welfare
concerns in relation to child prostitutes themselves
Response of health
care professionals
- Non-judgemental
- Offer assistance
when asked to do so
- Goal of increasing
the prostitutes feelings of self-worth
- Offer possible
alternatives only when asked
- Approach
- harm reduction model
- Recognize
the high risk of this population
- Address the
problem as an issue of concern for our communities
- Act as both
advocates for this high risk group and lobbyists for change
in policy
(MacInnes, 1994).
The Protection
of Children Involved in Prostitution Act - Feb 1/99 - allows
police or social workers to apprehend child prostitutes
under the age of 18 and keep them in safe houses for up
until 72 hours. Maximum fines and jails terms for pimps
were also bumped up. The highest fine under the Child Welfare
Act rose to $25,000 from $2,000, while the maximum jail
term jumped to two years less a day from six months (Alberta
Law, 1999).
"Federal
Law has been changed in that Sec. 212 (4) (procuring the
services of a minor) has been amended to provide easier
prosecution by the Police. Also, Case Law has "upped"
the sentencing of pimps from about 2 years to a global sentence
of about 7.5 years. We recently had a 13.5 year sentence
in Alberta. Also, Alberta will proclaim Bill 1 (The Protection
of Children Involved In Prostitution Act) on or about Jan
25th, 99. This will be the first legislation of it's kind"
(Personal communication, Ross MacInnes, Dec 1998).
International |
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Internationally
more than one million children a year, most female, are
forced into prostitution (Progress of Nations Report, UNICEF,
1997)
United Kingdom |
focus
points
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| "The
trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation
has become a global business operated by organized crime
groups and is now viewed as having reached "critical
proportions." It is nothing more than a modern
day slave trade. This paper encourages the use of financial
weapons, namely confiscation, money laundering, civil
forfeiture and taxation legislation, against those who
sexually exploit women and children" (Bell, 2001,
p. 65).
"Key
point of the article is that the trafficking of women
and children for prostitution has become a global
business. Bell notes that the number of women and
children brought into the European Union for the purpose
of prostitution is approximately 500,000 women per
year " (Bell, 2001, p. 65).
:He closes
his paper with a quote from Diane Johnston in addition
to a powerful statement of his own. I am quoting this
last paragraph so you can 'see' it for yourself"
(Bell, 2001, p. 65).
"Trafficking
in women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation
is a fundamental human rights issue for our generation;
it will be to our eternal shame if, through inactivity,
we permit this evil trade to continue. As Diane Johnston
has written: `While concrete programs that provide
for the aggressive prosecution of traffickers and
support of the victim are necessary, the one over-riding
theme must be that trafficking violates human rights
and that women are no longer going to be used for
the economic and sexual gratification of others. Until
this belief is as strongly entrenched as the practice
of trafficking, trafficking will continue and women
will continue to be used, abused and left as human
garbage in the brothels of EU cities' " (Bell,
2001, p. 65).
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United States |
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Focus Points
Reference
Alberta Law,
(1999)
Bell, R. (2001).
Sex trafficking: A financial crime perspective. Journal
of Financial Crime, 9(2), 165-177. Retrieved August
2, 2002, from ProQuest database.
MacInnes, R.
(1994).
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Topic
C - Forensic Nursing > Section C.5.0. Forensic Populations >
Unit.C.5.1. Child Prostitution
