A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #373 - Antipatriarchy - Current Situation: Organized Sexual Exploitation of Minors in France (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

At a time when society seems to be waking up to the issue of sexual 
violence inflicted on children, let's talk about a closely related 
phenomenon: child prostitution. Confronted first and foremost with this 
phenomenon, child protection services are attempting, alone and without 
support from public authorities, to mobilize against it. The 46th CNAEMO 
conference on "Sex Exploitation of Minors in Danger" provided an 
opportunity to learn more; here's a brief recap.

To understand, first, some figures. Child prostitution affects 9 girls 
for every 1 boy, so I will use the feminine form in this article. 11,000 
minors were affected in 2024; today, there are around 20,000 according 
to ACPE[1]. This is a phenomenon that affects all social classes, but it 
is worth noting that two-thirds of the minors involved come from foster 
homes. Child prostitution is on the rise (a 140% increase in the number 
of people involved between 2016 and 2024), and it is occurring at 
increasingly younger ages. The average age of entry into prostitution is 
between 13 and 14, but some children are confronted with it as early as 
the end of primary school. Of all victims of pimping in France, 42% are 
minors. Finally, the paths out of prostitution are particularly arduous 
for young people, and professionals estimate that 5 to 7 support 
sessions are generally necessary to guide them towards another path.

As with adults, the thorny question of how to name these things arises. 
"Child prostitution" is a generic and immediately understandable term, 
but one with which the young people involved do not identify and which 
fails to describe the full diversity of paid sexual practices.

Different recruitment methods
The terms "sex exploitation" or "sex torture" are also sometimes used. 
Professionals prefer to speak of "sexual exploitation," a term much more 
accepted by young people because it is more neutral. To reach these 
young people, it is crucial to restore their agency, that is, to empower 
them to act and exist. This begins first and foremost with using words, 
particularly the word "exploitation," which they may have experienced 
their entire lives, for example, within their families.

But regardless of the terminology used, it is essential to remember that 
a minor who engages in prostitution is, above all, a minor in danger 
within a system designed for the profit of adults, and that 
consequently, no notion of consent can be invoked in this context.

The entry of minors into prostitution can occur in several ways. First, 
there is the most well-known method: that of the "lover boy," men who 
seduce young girls and then trap them in a relationship of control, 
becoming their pimp. Then there are the recruitment networks organized 
within shelters, where young people already involved in prostitution are 
placed in these settings so they can recruit other young people. Some of 
these young people have been taken to parties by recruiters, where they 
are filmed without their knowledge and are now being blackmailed with 
threats of the video being made public.

Translation of the sign: "Let's defend our girls' right to choose! Their 
future depends on it!"

Credits: Lauren Mitchell
Finally, there is the issue of young people who fall into prostitution 
because of a "debt" created by drug use or trafficking. Indeed, in large 
cities, the lines between drug trafficking and child prostitution are 
very blurred. Some young women are initially recruited to sell drugs, 
then have their merchandise stolen (sometimes by their own supplier) and 
are thus forced to recoup their losses through sexual services. Or 
simply, young women who turn to prostitution to pay for their drug use.

It should be noted that drug use is almost a constant feature of 
underage prostitution, and that this prostitution serves several 
purposes: to numb themselves to avoid feeling their bodies, to 
dissociate (that is, to cut themselves off from feelings and emotions 
too intense to protect themselves), and to seek sexual performance.

A consequence of patriarchal oppression...
The sexual exploitation of minors is not a phenomenon without cause. It 
is a direct consequence of the experiences of patriarchy and capitalism 
that children and adolescents endure. According to professionals working 
in the field, 100% of minors who prostitute themselves have been victims 
of violence in their lives. The violence and sexual abuse perpetrated by 
adults against children have significant psycho-emotional consequences 
that hinder a child's healthy and secure development. Abused children 
then experience themselves as objects and not as subjects, which leads 
to a lack of self-esteem and profound emotional deprivation. In this 
context, prostitution can be analyzed as a form of self-harm (like 
self-mutilation) where the trauma is reenacted until it is understood 
and acknowledged.

Besides the ongoing nature of physical or sexual violence, other similar 
characteristics are found in the profiles of young people involved in 
prostitution: school bullying, a victim status not recognized by family 
or society, isolation, and relationship and family difficulties.

...and capitalist
The school system is also a crucial risk factor for the sexual 
exploitation of minors. Indeed, since entry into prostitution often 
occurs through a third party (a friend, a boyfriend, a bully, etc.), 
school can be the place where teenagers meet this third party who 
triggers the shift towards illegal spheres (prostitution or drugs, which 
overlap). From this point of connection to these two worlds, young 
people sometimes abandon their schooling and become completely immersed 
in prostitution, while others maintain their education alongside a "side 
activity."

Because, of course, money is central to prostitution. The precariousness 
of their social environment and the fact that schools fail to fulfill 
their role of ensuring equal opportunities push many young people 
towards the drug economy and prostitution.

This vulnerability is even more pronounced among young people in the 
child welfare system (ASE), due to their isolation, multiple traumas, 
and financial insecurity. The frustration generated by social media and 
consumer society leads young people to find solutions to their needs 
where adults often remain blind, deaf, or powerless.

Myriam (UCL Marseille)

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[1]Action Against Child Prostitution, an association fighting against 
the sexual exploitation of minors since 1986.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Etat-des-lieux-L-exploitation-sexuelle-organisee-des-mineures-en-France
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