THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION (CSE) OF YOUTH Peter Qualliotine, CSE Training Coordinator YouthCare's Bridge Program Seattle, Washington

CSE is a global problem that manifests differently depending on the economic, cultural and social context .

The underlying issues remain constant in each context.

What prevents us from fully understanding the scale, scope and severity of the commercial sexual exploitation of youth?

The Social Construction of Gender

“ Act Like a Man”

“ Good Girl/Bad Girl”

“ CSE Youth” vs. “Teen Prostitute” The complexity of CSE in the criminal justice system is rooted in the “victim/offender” status of youth

Who is this “Legitimate Target Group?”

Membership in a “Less Powerful Group” increases a youth’s vulnerability to CSE.

A Coordinated Community Response to CSE

A Coordinated Community Response to CSE must be accountable to victim/survivors.

Demand

TRICKS (continued) Of Gary Ridgeway's 48 admitted victims, 27 of them were between the ages of 15-18 years old. The Green River killer was therefore one of the largest child serial killers in the US ever. The fact that many of his victims were children/youth is never mentioned because they were viewed as prostitutes.

The Sexual Violence Continuum, Sexual Objectification and CSE

Data from 3 studies by Farley (Prostitution Research & Education in San Francisco) and colleagues in Chicago (Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Glasgow (Women’s Support Project) and London (POPPY Project of Eaves, Inc.)

What would deter you from buying sex? Chicago N=113 Glasgow N=110 London N=103 Added to a Sex Offender Registry 92% 89% 85% Photo and/or name in newspaper 87% 84% 83% Jail time 83% 86% 84% Photo and/or name on a billboard 83% 77% 85% Photo and/or name on internet 82% 78% 83% A letter to family saying you were arrested for soliciting 79% 77% 79% Driver’s license suspended 76% NA 78% Greater criminal penalty 75% 72% 77% Car impounded 70% 70% 76% Higher monetary fine (more than $2,500) 68% 69% 80% Community service 58% NA 72% Required to attend educational program for johns 41% 56% 47%

“ The emptier our hearts become, the greater will be our crimes. … It is a terrible and inexorable law that one cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing ones own: in the face of one’s victim, one sees oneself.” -James Baldwin, 1961

The Making of a girl video clip

PIMPS/ TRAFFICKERS

CSE Power and Control Wheel

Types of Pimps:

The “Turning Out” Process:

Effects of the “Turning Out” Process

Impact of CSE on Victim/Survivors

PTSD

Stages of Change Pre-contemplation Stable behavior

[email_address] www.youthcare.org

The Law

Federal Laws and Sentences FEDERAL LAW MINIMUM SENTENCE MAXIMUM SENTENCE Transportation of a minor with intent for minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. 18 U.S.C.2423(a) 10 years Life Coercion and enticement (transportation for prostitution or other criminal sexual activity) 18 U.S.C. 2422 10 years Life Sex Trafficking of children or by force, fraud or coercion TVPA 18 U.S.C.1591 15 years (child under 14) 10 years (between 14-17) Life Life Sexual Exploitation of Children 18 U.S.C 2251 15 years 25 years 35 years 30 years (1 st offense) 50 years (1 prior) Life (2+ priors)

Federal Laws and Sentences FEDERAL LAW MINIMUM SENTENCE MAXIMUM SENTENCE Selling or buying of children- 18 U.S.C. 2251A 30 years Life Certain activities related to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors- 18 U.S.C. 2252 None (possession of porn) 5 years 15 years (prior) 10 years (2+ priors) 10 years 20 years 40 years 40 years Certain activities related to material constituting or containing child pornography- 18 U.S.C. 2252A None (possession of porn) 5 years 15 years (prior) 10 years (2+ priors) 10 years 20 years 40 years 40 years Obscene visual representations of sexual abuse of children -18 U.S.C 1466A None 10 years 10 years 20 years (prior)