C S E C The Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/childprostitution/Canada.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of child prostitution are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring how children got started, how they survive, and
how some succeed in leaving. Perhaps
your paper could focus on runaways and the abuse that led to their
leaving. Other factors of interest
might be poverty, rejection, drug dependence, coercion, violence, addiction,
hunger, neglect, etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to write about the manipulative and dangerous adults
who control this activity. There is a
lot to the subject of Child Prostitution.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims Human Trafficking National
Coordination Center ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Hundreds of kids in
sex trade - Testimony jolts inquest; police say hands tied Mike McIntyre,
Winnipeg Free Press › 20 February 2007 -- Source:
www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/3886439p-4494942c.html www.cyc-net.org/features/viewpoints/c-sextrade.html [accessed 23 April
2011] Hundreds of
vulnerable She told court that
80 per cent of child prostitution occurs in gang houses and "trick
pads." Runner estimated that 70 per cent of the girls are aboriginal,
more than 70 per cent are wards of Child and Family Services, and more than 80
per cent get involved after running away from their placements. HAVE THERE BEEN ANY
MAJOR CASES IN WINNIPEG?
- In 2005, more than 30 children were involved in an alleged West End child
prostitution ring in a Victor Street home.
Police said about 20 youngsters between the ages of 12 and 16 were
used in the sex operation, and 11 others from 18 months to 11 years old were
sometimes in the vicinity of the sex crimes. Drugs blamed for
child prostitution Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation CBC News, January 17, 2008 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2008/01/17/child-exploitation.html [accessed 23 April
2011] "It started
with drugs for me," said Anna Moore, standing on a street corner in "This fellow,
who calls himself the sugar daddy, invited her to a party with other kids and
gave her something that she didn't even know what it was — it must have
been crack cocaine mixed with something else — and within no time she was on
the street and hooking," she said.
"This young girl was given it for free, and then they get
hooked." ***
HOW TO GET HELP *** Runaways
- Where To Turn For Help Before You Are Homeless Rebeccas Community www.homeless.org.au/runaways.htm [accessed 22 April
2011] Here are the best
phone numbers to call …They are Confidential - which means they won't tell
anyone about your call unless you want them to talk to somebody for you, or
you are in danger. They are open 24
Hours - it doesn't matter what time you call
In Canada, call 1-800-668-6868
How To Get Help - Helpline:
(416) 781-9898 Horizons for Youth www.horizonsforyouth.org/howToGetHelp.php [accessed 22 April
2011] www.211ontario.ca/detail/en/79775 [accessed 3 November
2016] If you are in
trouble, need a safe place to stay or just want help looking at your options
Horizons for Youth is committed to helping out in anyway we can. Horizons
for Youth: (416) 781-9898 Kids Help Phone: 1 800 668-6868 Kids Help Phone www.kidshelpphone.ca/teens/home/splash.aspx [accessed 22 April
2011] Providing immediate
help and hope that young people need and deserve - 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year. Every day, Kids Help Phone counsellors answer calls and online
questions from across Canada. No matter what the problem or concern, our
counsellors are there to provide immediate and caring support, information
and, if necessary, referral to a local community or social service agency. CYBERTIP.CA [accessed 23 April
2011] Cybertip.ca is If you know about a
child who is in immediate danger or risk, call 911 or your local police. If you have any information on a
missing child, call Child Find's toll free line at 1-800-387-7962 ***
ARCHIVES *** Children for sale:
Canada’s youth at the heart of the rising sex trade Sawyer Bogdan,
Global News, 30 November 2020 globalnews.ca/news/7487725/children-sex-trafficking-canada/ [accessed 1 December
2020] “It’s hard as a
young person wanting to fit in or to feel loved or even to have the new Gucci
bag or to be offered a luxurious lifestyle and get out of the situation that
you’re currently in,” she said. “Whether that be an abusive environment, mental illness, homelessness,
or even as simple as wanting to meet up with someone who promised to offer
you the world, this is how they choose their next victim to ruin their life.” ECPAT Country
Monitoring Report [PDF] Lisa Cox, ECPAT International, 2012 www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/A4A_V2_AM_CANADA.pdf [accessed 26 August
2020] Desk review of
existing information on the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in Canada.
The report looks at protection mechanisms, responses, preventive measures, child
and youth participation in fighting SEC, and makes recommendations for action
against SEC. Human
Rights Reports » 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 10, 2020 www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/canada/ [accessed 23 August
2020] SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN - The law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation
of children, the sale of children, and offering or procuring a child for
child prostitution and practices related to child pornography. Authorities
enforced the law effectively. The minimum age of consensual sex is 16 years.
Persons convicted of living from the proceeds of the prostitution of a child
younger than age 18 face between two and 14 years’ imprisonment. Persons who
aid, counsel, compel, use, or threaten to use violence, intimidation, or
coercion in relation to a child younger than 18 engaging in prostitution face
between five and 14 years’ imprisonment. Persons who solicit or obtain the
sexual services of a child younger than 18 face between six months’ and five
years’ imprisonment. Children, principally teenage girls, were exploited in
sex trafficking. The law prohibits
accessing, producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography. Maximum
penalties range from 18 months’ imprisonment for summary offenses to 10
years’ imprisonment for indictable offenses. In August the minister of public
safety called the problem of child pornography “serious,” with an increase of
288 per cent from 2010 to 2017 in police-reported incidents of child
pornography. The number had increased from five cases per 100,000 in the population
in 2010 to 18 per 100,000 in 2017. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 3 October 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/canada2003.html [accessed 27 January
2011] [52] The Committee is
encouraged by the role Canada has played nationally and internationally in
promoting awareness of sexual exploitation and working towards its reduction,
including by adopting amendments to the Criminal Code in 1997 (Bill C-27) and
the introduction in 2002 of Bill C-15A, facilitating the apprehension and
prosecution of persons seeking the services of child victims of sexual
exploitation and allowing for the prosecution in Canada of all acts of child
sexual exploitation committed by Canadians abroad. The Committee notes, however, concerns
relating to the vulnerability of street children and, in particular,
Aboriginal children who, in disproportionate numbers, end up in the sex trade
as a means of survival. The Committee
is also concerned about the increase of foreign children and women trafficked
into Testimony of Cherry
Kingsley Cherry Kingsley,
trafficked in Canada, originally from Canada; Keynote Address on behalf of
the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child before the Second
World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Yokohama
(December 2001) At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23 April
2011] Firstly, I would
like to tell you about myself for just a moment. I am a survivor of
Commercial Sexual Exploitation. I grew up in the sex trade in Canada from the
age of 14- 22. During those eight years in the sex trade most of my friends
died; they died from drugs, AIDS, violence, murder and some from suicide. Testimony of Dawn Polaris Project actioncenter.polarisproject.org/the-frontlines/survivor-testimonies/38-testimonies/59-testimony-of-dawn [Last access date
unavailable] My mother kicked me
out of my home at the age of 12. I spent the first few weeks couch surfing
and trying to go back home. Often it would last just a few days and then soon
I would be back out. I had to quit school and try to make my way in the world
with no support. I had no place to go and as far as choices I had 2…live on
the streets or die. When I left I went straight to the only place I knew to
go, a local hangout for all various types of problem kids....Beaver Hill
Park. I have often heard
men say that I had a choice, and I did, it was either work as a prostitute or
starve to death because it is illegal in Canada to work at 12, not to mention
that no one will hire you if you have no address and are only 13 or 14. Child prostitute
alleges she was lured to Times Colonist,
November 17, 2008 www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=395a3895-b511-4056-a33f-84429fcd50fc [accessed 18 January
2016] www.hopereturns.org/PDF/Child_Lured_to_Victoria_for_Prostituion.pdf [accessed 6
September 2016] A man released on
bail in October is back in custody after police discovered he allegedly lured
a 14-year-old female to work as a prostitute. She alleges that she
met the Victoria man over the internet. He lured her to Victoria from her
family home in the B.C. Interior from where she has been missing for three
weeks. Once here, he took control of her possessions, including
identification and wallet. She says that when she tried to leave, he beat her
and threatened her. Prostitution -
Another escort death has sex trade workers debating how to stay safe Bryan Saunders, VUE
WEEKLY, Jul. 09, 2008 - Issue #664: Rocky 12 www.vueweekly.com/front/story/prostitution_another_escort_death_has_sex_trade_workers_debating_how_to_sta/ [accessed 23 April
2011] The perception that
most prostitutes are mentally ill, or abused, or drug or alcohol addicts or
were all forced into the business, is also false, Strachan argues. She points
to herself as an example of someone who consciously chose to be a prostitute,
until, she says, she “just got bored of it.” There are some drug-addicts,
mentally ill and victims of human trafficking in the sex trade, Strachan
admits, but she says they are the exception and not the rule. White disagrees,
however, with the idea that the majority of women working in the sex trade
made an educated decision to do so. As an Aboriginal woman who looks
Caucasian, White explains that during her childhood she was accepted by
neither her Aboriginal nor her white peers. As a result, White got involved
in drugs and alcohol with some fellow misfits and eventually started to have
underage sex. As she puts it, she was presented with a way to finally fit in,
and what she thought was a great way to make money. “After a while, you lose your self respect
and think, ‘Well, I might as well charge. I mean, I’m giving it away for
free,’” White says. Five girls in care
have been selling sex on Craigslist, police say E. Baron,
canada.com, May 9, 2008 www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=c1e6d15c-21d9-4619-ada5-f954a0367129 [accessed 23 April
2011] bc.ctvnews.ca/teens-selling-sex-on-craigslist-police-say-1.412391 [accessed 3 November
2016] Vancouver police
have identified girls as young as 15 advertising sex on Craigslist. Child prostitution in Vancouver has largely
shifted from the streets to the Internet, Houghton said. "It's moved successfully inside for
these kids, because it's a lot harder to police. They seem to be befriended
and groomed by . . . the classic pimp . . . or older kids who seem to be able
to convince them and manipulate them." Child Trafficking
Under Our Radar: MP [PDF] Katie Rook, National
Post, April 11, 2008 www.oacas.org/news/08/april/11trafficking.pdf [accessed 23 April
2011] "You think it
doesn't happen and our Canadian public thinks it doesn't happen with ordinary
Canadian girls, but it does. It's actually gone under the public radar
screen." Young women and children
are bought and sold and forced to work in brothels throughout Canada. While
some victims are lured from other countries with modelling contracts or the
promise of citizenship, others are recruited within Canada. Human trafficking
and child exploitation are not solely the problems of other countries known
for their thriving sex trade industries, she said. The RCMP estimates that in Canada about 800
women and children are being trafficked for prostitution each year. Advocacy
groups suggest there could be as many as 15,000 victims each year. Canada
"international pariah" for failing to prosecute child-sex offenders Terri Theodore,
Canadian Press, www.thestar.com/news/2007/12/18/canada_not_prosecuting_childsex_tourists_lawyer.html [accessed 5 January
2015] More Blue Uniforms
To Fight Child Prostitution In Saskatoon [access information
unavailable] Talks are still in
their infancy, but Out of the shadows:
child prostitutes speak out Leanne Yohemas-Hayes and John Chilibeck,
Capital News Online, www.carleton.ca/JMC/cnews/16031998/story2.html [accessed 23 April
2011] Megan Lewis turned
her first trick when she was 13 and worked in a brothel with other girls as
young as 11. They sold their bodies in the back of a knick-knack shop in
Vancouver's Gastown tourist district. Lewis felt
she was making big bucks when she finished a night's work with $30 in her
pocket. For 11 years she was physically and sexually abused. But she couldn't
turn her back on the life she had grown used to. When is a law not a
law? When do-gooder politicians fail to proclaim it Linda Williamson, www.canadiancrc.com/Newspaper_Articles/Toronto_Sun_When_is_a_law_not_a_law_01OCT06.aspx [accessed 23 April
2011] YEARS OF LOBBYING - Other provinces,
notably Trouble is, it was
never proclaimed -- not by the Tories and not by the Liberals since they came
to power, even though it was the brainchild of one of their own. Amazingly,
some youth outreach groups oppose the law as too "draconian" --
because, hey, why shouldn't a 14-year-old have the right to sell her body for
cash? Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation CBC News, September 25, 2006 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2006/09/25/child-sex.html [accessed 23 April
2011] According to
StopSexWithKids.ca, about 400 children and youth, aged eight to 16 years, are
sexually exploited on National Post, July
12, 2006 www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=d8868283-21cf-4db8-9086-b29e5754f5d6 [accessed 23 April
2011] A 28-year-old Sexual Exploitation
Education and Awareness Coalition of www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2006/27/c2414.html [Last access date
unavailable] Today, the Sexual
Exploitation Education and Awareness Coalition of Toronto (SEEACT) launched
its information and outreach poster campaign at Toronto Police Service
Headquarters. The poster is one of the
coalition's projects aimed at spreading awareness and providing outreach to
victims of child prostitution. The slogan, "No 13-Year-Old Dreams of
Getting into Prostitution, Many Dream of Getting Out", is intended to
help children and youth involved in, or affected by, commercial sexual
exploitation reach out for assistance. It is also intended to educate the
public that child prostitution is a form of child abuse. The phone number
will give victims a point of contact for two community support agencies -
Street Outreach Services, LOFT Community Services and Kids Help Phone. N.L. police
investigate alleged child porn and prostitution operation Canadian Press, fleshploitation.blogspot.com/2006/02/newfoundland-child-porn-prostitution.html [accessed 23 April
2011] An investigation
into a porn and prostitution ring that allegedly involved 40 young girls in Child-sex ring
uncovered in Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation CBC News, November 2, 2005 www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/11/02/child-sex-051102.html www.cbc.ca/news/canada/child-sex-ring-uncovered-in-winnipeg-police-allege-1.552988 [accessed 19 August
2014] Sgt. Kelly Dennison
said about 20 girls – aged 12 to 17 – were sold into prostitution. Dennison said the other children younger
than age 12, including a baby of only 18 months, weren't necessarily forced
to perform sexual acts but may have been exposed to them because they lived
in the houses where they were taking place. The Protection
Project - The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/canada.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Several Canadian
cities have been cited as popular sex tourist destinations. Montreal has
frequently been referred to as the Bangkok of the West by American and
Canadian tourists, and American tourists have been known to travel to
Montreal for prostituted women and escort agencies. The Internet has also helped make Vancouver
a sex tourist destination. Along the so-called kiddie stroll, girls as young
as 11 work the streets, and young men are sold for
sex in “boys’ town.” According to
Vancouver health authorities, Victoria is a child sex tourism destination,
and Internet sites detail how to buy underage sex there. Some people visit Five Years After ECPAT: Fifth Report
on implementation of the Agenda for Action ECPAT International,
November 2001 www.no-trafficking.org/content/web/05reading_rooms/five_years_after_stockholm.pdf [accessed 13
September 2011] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – Out
Of The Shadows: Child Prostitutes Speak Out Leanne Yohemas-Hayes and John Chilibeck,
Capital News Online, www.carleton.ca/JMC/cnews/16031998/story2.html [accessed 24 April
2011] She turned her
first trick when she was 13 and worked in a brothel with other girls as young
as 11. They sold their bodies in the back of a knick-knack shop in The Dark Side Of
The Street fightforjustice.blogspot.com/2006/03/dark-side-of-street.html [accessed 24 April
2011] Prostitution is a
serious issue in · parents and families of prostitutes · spouses and families of people who use prostitutes · community members who must live in neighborhoods where
pimps and prostitutes operate · youth and young adults who are at risk of being seduced
into prostitution Why Do Youths Get
Into Prostitution? www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/police/kids/why5.html [Last access date
unavailable] While many child
prostitutes are girls who come from troubled family situations, anyone can
become a victim. They don't have to be poor, they can be female or male, they
can be any age, and many young prostitutes still have families who care about
them. Here are some common factors that can lead to young people getting
involved in "the life:" Who Becomes A Child
Prostitute? www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/police/kids/who5.html [Last access date
unavailable] Typical profile of
a female prostitute and typical profile of a male prostitute Teenage Prostitution
- The Real Story www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/police/kids/over18.html [Last access date
unavailable] Many young girls
are lured into a horrible and tragic life of prostitution involving violence
and drug addiction. In early Child
Prostitution: Whose Child Next? cyprus.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=897 [accessed 24 April
2011] 13-year-old Anna
was tied to a chair by a man in his late 20’s in a dark, wet room. Her
wounded legs lay motionless, while her tired black eyes stared with panic at
the beaker of boiling water which the man threatened to pour down her throat
if she refused to go on doing what he demanded: selling her body. Shockingly
enough the above scene was not set in Presentation To The
Parliamentary Committee On Solicitation 38th PARLIAMENT, 1st
SESSION, Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on
Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, March 31,
2005 www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=1723237&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=38&Ses=1 [accessed 24 April
2011] MS. HERMINA
DYKXHOOME
- Another
area of great concern to the members of my organization is Women, girls, and
young boys involved in prostitution usually have a disrupted education, few
skills, little experience, and diminished prospects for meaningful
employment. Sheltered housing, job training, adult education opportunities,
and drug and alcohol rehabilitation need the attention of both government and
civil society. While not all will respond to these initiatives, they are
necessary in order to help those who wish to reintegrate into mainstream
society. Police
Say 30 Kids Involved In CTV.ca News Staff,
with reports from CTV's Jill Macyshon and CTV
Winnipeg's Rachel Lagace, Nov. 3 2005 www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20051102/wpg_sexring_051102/ [accessed 24 April
2011] More than 30
children were victimized in what police are calling the largest case of child
prostitution in CISC 2005 Annual Report
on Organized Crime in Criminal
Intelligence Service www.cisc.gc.ca/media/media_2005/documents/highlights_e.pdf [accessed 24 April
2011] Child prostitution
is usually a hidden section of the prostitution market, and thus frequently
exists alongside adult prostitution, and is therefore, difficult for law
enforcement to identify. Small groups of organized criminals and lower-level
organized crime groups are involved in child prostitution in Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children in David Thompson,
Third Year Student at www.beyondborders.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/fact-sheet-csec-in-canada3.pdf [accessed 24 April
2011] www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/CCSE_Fact_Sheet.pdf [accessed 3 November
2016] [page 2] WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AGE OF ENTRY LEVEL FOR CSEC IN CANADA? Experts place the median age of entry into commercial sexual exploitation anywhere from 13-14 to 16-18. HOW MANY CSEC ARE THERE IN CANADA? Experts disagree on this. For instance, one 2001 news report states that Vancouver has about 500 CSEC under the age of 17 on the street, and 10 times as many girls are forced to work behind closed doors. Statement on
Prostitution Position Paper by
Real Women Of www.realwomenca.com/page/stateprostitution.html [accessed 24 April
2011] Prostitutes are
extremely vulnerable members of society, open to personal and sexual
degradation, exploitation and violence from their customers, pimps, and
businesses from whose premises they work. They have no security or job
training to sustain them in later years, and often their physical and mental
health is at risk. We are particularly
concerned about the effect of prostitution on young children and teenagers,
giving them the impression that sexuality is merely recreation and sport, and
not a responsible, loving expression best obtained within the desirable and
permanent context of a conjugal relationship. It encourages teenagers
to view prostitution as a temporary way of financial survival, rather than
working to acquire marketable work skills through the more permanent route of
education and employment. These vulnerable
children are often throw-away kids
and we must increase the capacity of rehabilitative centres
to rescue them. Child Prostitution At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 13
September 2011] There are an
estimated 10,000 children living on the streets of A City Rebuffs
Child Prostitution Mark Clayton,
Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug 1996 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 13
September 2011] Child prostitution
peaked in Robert Matas, British Columbia Bureau, Vancouver, Globe And Mail p.A5, May 1, 1999 www.walnet.org/csis/news/vancouver_99/gandm-990501-2.html [accessed 24 April
2011] Clueless in Commentary by Ed
Hynes, A View from www.obscenitycrimes.org/news/newsFebruary2004.php [accessed 24 April
2011] In ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** ECPAT Global
Monitoring Report on the status of action against commercial exploitation of
children - CANADA [PDF] ECPAT 2006 www.ecpat.net/A4A_2005/PDF/Americas/Global_Monitoring_Report-CANADA.pdf [accessed 23 April
2011] In Canada, between
10 and 15 per cent of people involved in street prostitution are under 18,
according to Statistics Canada, but this figure is viewed by most child
advocates as a gross underestimate. The average age recorded for entry into
commercial sex differs across studies, but there is an agreement that
children are recruited by others or feel compelled to enter the sex trade to
survive on the street at an average age of 14-15 years. However, there is
some indication that the age of children entering prostitution is falling,
especially for aboriginal children. Aboriginal youth are disproportionably victimised through commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)
and many have been murdered. The increase in
prostitution of children is causing growing concern. Young girls are seduced
by pimps and subsequently conned into prostitution or forced to work in strip
clubs. They are recruited in public places, such as shopping malls, metro
stations and bus stops, and even on the street. Children running away from
physical and/or sexual abuse at home or in foster care, in particular, are
easily spotted by pimps at the bus and train stations of major Canadian
cities. The pimps befriend them and provide them with food, accommodation and
clothes before hooking them on drugs and alcohol and forcing them into sexual
service. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61719.htm [accessed 7 February
2020] CHILDREN
-
Children were trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation. TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– The country was a destination and a transit point to the All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
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