Prostitution of minors

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Pregnant child prostitutes in London around 1871

As prostitution of minors or child prostitution is called the inclusion of minors in return for compensation in sexual activities or actions. While this is now illegal in all UN member states, for centuries it was an accepted or at least tolerated practice in many countries.

history

In ancient Rome, prostitution was an everyday and ubiquitous occurrence. It is known from historical sources that children - mostly slaves - also had to work as prostitutes. Pre-pubescent boys are said to have been particularly popular in the brothels. In an epigram from Martial , he reports that Emperor Domitian had passed a law prohibiting child prostitution.

Indian parents sometimes took their daughters to Hindu temples so that they would no longer have to look after them. As Devadasi , these girls were originally supposed to be temple servants, but over the centuries this traditional role has become that of a temple prostitute who has to be of sexual service to the priests. Although the practice is now illegal, it remains commonplace, according to a 2003 report.

In Afghanistan there has been a tradition of Baccha Baazi , the sale of underage boys, for centuries .

In Europe, too, underage prostitution was widespread until the late 19th century and beyond. In the period 1800–1850 half of all prostitutes working in the greater Paris area are said to have been children or young people. In 1885 the British investigative journalist William T. Stead published a series of articles dealing with child prostitution. In order to demonstrate to the public how easy it was to buy a young girl, he arranged such a deal for research. Although Stead did not touch the girl he had bought, he was convicted for his actions and spent three months in prison. One consequence of his reporting was that the age of consent in England was raised from 13 to 16 years.

Legal Aspects

Article 34 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child reads:

The contracting states undertake to protect the child from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. To this end, the contracting states shall, in particular, take all suitable bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent persons under the age of 18 from entering
  • are induced or forced to participate in illegal sexual acts,
  • exploited for prostitution or other illegal sexual practices,
  • be exploited for pornographic performances and presentations.

Due to these regulations, the prostitution of young people is also prohibited in countries where they are principally sexually mature ( e.g. in Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

In most countries, people who induce prostitution are liable to prosecution, although the definitions of the terms “children”, “prostitution” and “inducing” can vary widely.

Despite all the prohibitions and regulations, it is difficult to curb child prostitution. This is due on the one hand to the large market, which is particularly difficult to control internationally, but also to laws protecting the family, which only permit state interference and surveillance to a limited extent. However, a German citizen, for example, who makes himself liable for the sexual abuse of children and young people abroad, can be prosecuted in Germany under German law for his offense abroad ( extraterritorial principle ).

distribution

According to unconfirmed estimates by UNICEF , around 3 to 4 million young people and children practice child prostitution worldwide. According to scientists, up to 10 million children could be involved in prostitution. In India alone , where around 40% of the people in prostitution are believed to be minors, the number of prostituted children is estimated by the authorities at 1.2 million. One publicly known case is estimated to have at least 25-30 undetected. The main regional hotspots are Asia (India, Nepal , Thailand , Philippines , Malaysia , Indonesia , Sri Lanka , Cambodia , Vietnam ), Latin America and the Caribbean ( Brazil , Peru , Colombia , Dominican Republic , Mexico , Cuba ), southern and western Africa ( Nigeria , South Africa , Zambia ), but also Eastern Europe . Child prostitution is also widespread in developed countries. In the USA, for example, the number of children exploited through prostitution is estimated at at least 100,000.

causes

A distinction should first be made between two different types of child and youth prostitution : on the one hand , forced prostitution by pimps, which often takes place in connection with human trafficking , in which the victims are “property” of the pimp. On the other hand, there is so-called survival sex , in which children and young people prostitute themselves in order to be able to survive financially.

Forced prostitution

The reasons for the forced prostitution of children and adolescents are often a combination of social structures and individual actors. This combination puts children in situations in which adults take advantage of their vulnerability to sexually exploit and abuse them. Commercial prostitution is usually preceded by sexual abuse in the private sphere.

Individual cases can differ greatly from one another. According to a report from the US Department of Labor's International Child Labor Bureau, “Some victims are runaways from home or government institutions, others have been sold by their parents or people have been tricked, and still others are street children. [...] The most worrying cases are those where the children are locked away. They are at higher risk of being tortured and physically abused, which can lead to death. "

Most of the media attention in connection with child and youth prostitution has received sex tourism in recent years . However, sociologist Louise Brown argues in a book that most of the customers of prostituted children in Southeast Asia are locals, not tourists.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
Certainly, poverty, demand, and coercion each play a role. In this paragraph, however, there are unreferenced assessments of the relative importance of the factors: not least, above all, in the first place. But that would have to be proven reliably. This also applies to a sensitive topic like this for all other statements in the section.

Child prostitution often goes hand in hand with sex tourism in economically poorer countries, where children are often forced to do so by their own parents out of economic poverty or are sold or kidnapped for it or, as street children , are forced into prostitution by pimps . Most of all, however, child prostitution is big organized crime business .

79% of all human trafficking worldwide occurs for the purpose of forced prostitution. 20% of the victims of forced prostitution are minors, the majority of whom are women. The perpetrators are predominantly male, but women are also often perpetrators.

Survival sex

Survival sex occurs when a child or adolescent participates in sexual activities in order to receive money, food, shelter, clothing, or other essential goods. These transactions usually only take place between the customer and the minor; a pimp is not involved. A 2008 study of underage prostitutes in New York found that 90% worked without a pimp. 95% of the respondents said they had sex for money because it was the safest way to be self-sufficient.

Situation in Germany

While public awareness, political disputes and the work of numerous aid organizations are primarily aimed at preventing this type of crime against children abroad, the plight of children and young people who also prostitute themselves in Germany has received little attention to date.

There are surveys on the number of underage prostitutes in Germany that fluctuate between 3 and 11 percent of total prostitution, or data that assume around 10,000 to 20,000 prostituted adolescents and children. A more precise figure for these illegal cases naturally turns out to be problematic.

According to a ZDF documentary dated December 9, 2003, the number of underage prostitutes in Germany is increasing more and more, with the proportion of younger people increasing more and more. Every eleventh prostitute who had contact with the aid organization Mitternachtsmission Dortmund in 2002 was a minor. Despite the apparent need for action, public funding for aid projects is becoming increasingly scarce.

The minors mostly prostitute themselves out of social or existential need. The underage prostitutes should also be mentioned here. Often drug addictions are added, creating a vicious circle. Only some of the underage prostitutes openly come into contact with customers on the baby line (places where minors offer themselves); in many cases, the placement takes place through third parties. Approx. 90 percent of the affected children and adolescents who are cared for by aid organizations have already experienced sexual assault in their family or their relatives, many also other physical abuse, and both of these also determine their everyday life on the street .

In Germany, cases are repeatedly known in which perpetrators from the family circle of children have organized the sexual abuse of children against payment. In some cases, the attacks also took place to produce child pornography .

According to the legal situation in Germany, even if a person under the age of 14 has given their consent or even an offer to perform sexual acts, the sexual act is punishable according to Sections 176 and 176a of the Criminal Code (→ sexual abuse of children ). Sexual acts against payment with a person under the age of 18 are punishable under Section 182 (1) StGB (→ sexual abuse of young people ). Until November 5, 2008, sexual acts were allowed against payment with 16 and 17 year olds.

Situation in Austria

Official figures and statistics on the subject of child prostitution are not available. Only in the context of the conviction and advertisement statistics are some numbers (but not very informative) to be obtained.

However, there are legitimate indications of the existence of the problem from institutions that come into contact with underage prostitutes. A study from 2005 also provides information about the existence of child prostitution. A total of 40 interviews were carried out in Vienna and five in Salzburg. Most of the respondents were under 18 years of age, although older young people were also interviewed in Salzburg, 40% of whom had their first experience in prostitution at 18 and 20% at 19 years of age. The study by Tener / Ring 2006 was mainly in the qualitative area (survey of 25 people) and is therefore not representative for the whole of Austria. However, it shows the existence of a separate scene of underage Austrian prostitutes in Vienna. In addition to Vienna, there is also a child prostitution scene along the Czech-Austrian-German border.

See also

literature

  • Hathaichanok Amphan: The Other World Thailand - All that glitters is not gold ... Zupan, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-936904-15-4 .
  • Cathrin Schauer: Children on the line. Report from the German-Czech border. Horlemann, Bad Honnef 2003, ISBN 3-89502-174-1 .
  • Heidi Gerlinger: longing for love? - An analysis of the phenomenon of child prostitution. 2nd, revised edition (first edition 1994). Jugendwerkstatt, Östringen 2001, ISBN 3-925699-57-0 (Psychological and sociological background to the worldwide phenomenon; According to Gerlinger, according to official estimates, 10,000 to 20,000 children and young people who prostitute themselves live in Germany.)
  • Martin Block (Ed.): Tatort Manila: kidnapped, sold, abused - tourism and child prostitution . Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-499-22380-5 .
  • Adolf Gallwitz , Manfred Paulus: Grünkram - The Child Sex Mafia in Germany . Verlag Deutsche Polizeiliteratur, Hilden 1998, ISBN 3-8011-0376-5 .
  • Gisela Wuttke: Child prostitution, child pornography, tourism - an inventory. Lamuv, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-88977-531-4 .
  • Sabine Partenheimer: Child and youth prostitution in Germany - analysis of the requirements and options for action in youth welfare. Shaker, Aachen 1997, ISBN 3-8265-2674-0 (At the same time dissertation at the University of Mainz 1994 under the title: Child and youth prostitution in the Federal Republic of Germany ).
  • It is the most terrible violence . In: taz , August 17, 2002; interview

Web links

Wiktionary: Child prostitution  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Directive 2011/36 / EU (Human Trafficking Directive) , all persons under the age of 18 are referred to as “children”. According to German law and in some Austrian federal states, a child is anyone who is not yet 14, and a young person who is 14 but not yet 18 years old. However, due to the implementation of EU law, this differentiation does not play a role here.
  2. ^ A b Robin Clark, Judith Freeman Clark, Christine A. Adamec: The Encyclopedia of Child Abuse . Infobase Publishing, 2007, ISBN 0-7881-4606-8 , pp. 68–69 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  3. ↑ Michael L. Penn: Overcoming Violence Against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem . Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, ISBN 0-7425-2500-7 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  4. ^ Rupprecht: The prostitution of young girls, its cause and how to combat it. In: Journal to Combat Venereal Diseases. Volume 16, 1915/16, pp. 2-18.
  5. ^ Anne Cossins: Masculinities, Sexualities and Child Sexual Abuse . Martinus Nijhoff, 2000, ISBN 90-411-1355-X ( limited preview in Google book search).
  6. ^ BM Willis, BS Levy: Child prostitution: global health burden, research needs, and interventions. In: Lancet , Volume 359, No. 9315, pp. 1417-1422 (April 20, 2002), doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (02) 08355-1
  7. ↑ Official: More than 1M child prostitutes in India. CNN Asia, May 11, 2009.
  8. ^ National Colloquium - 2012 Final Report. An Inventory and Evaluation of the Current Shelter and Services Response to Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking. May 2013, p. 80.
  9. ↑ Christopher Bagley, Kathleen King: Child Sexual Abuse: The Search for Healing . Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-203-39259-0 , p. 124.
  10. ↑ Maureen Jaffe, Sonia Rosen: Forced Labor: The Prostitution of Children: Symposium Proceedings . Diane Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0-7881-4606-8 , p. 10.
  11. ^ Louise Brown: Sex Slaves: The Trafficking of Women in Asia . Virago Press , 2001, ISBN 1-86049-903-1 , pp. 1-3.
  12. ↑ UNODC report on human trafficking exposes modern form of slavery . United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ; Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  13. ^ Department of Justice definition , accessed June 3, 2015.
  14. ^ Kristen Hinman: Child-sex-trafficking stereotypes demolished by new research . November 2, 2011, accessed June 3, 2015.
  15. ↑ Previous versions of §182 StGB. Retrieved November 26, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Shadow report on the national implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child with regard to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography ( Memento of April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) ECPAT Austria, May 2008.
  17. ↑ For example from the STD outpatient clinic of the City of Vienna, MA15, as well as the emergency shelter for young people in Vienna, a_way
  18. ^ Sarah Shaw: Anyone's Daughter. The Etiology and Experience of Female adolescent prostitution in Austria. Policy and perspectives. Vienna 2005.
  19. ^ Sarah Shaw: Anyone's Daughter. 2005, p. 113, whereby it should be noted that 35% of the respondents in Vienna and 40% of the respondents in Salzburg came from other federal states. See Figure 2: Origin of respondent
  20. ↑ See Shaw, 2005 - Figure 1: Age of respondent
  21. ↑ In Vienna the starting age was 15/16 for a total of over 70% of those surveyed - cf. Sarah Shaw: Anyone's Daughter. 2005 - Figure 23: Age at initial experience in prostitution - Age at the time of the first experience with prostitution
  22. ↑ Stolen Youth: Child Prostitution Plagues German-Czech Border . UNICEF, 2003.