Child Prostitution, Sex Work

Child prostitution and sex work (CPSW) encompasses the use of girls and boys under the age of 18 in commercial sexual activities remunerated in cash or in kind. The phrase CPSW contains in itself a bias, which is in stark opposition with the research to date on the exploitation of children in the sex trade. By using the rhetoric of work, CPSW suggests that the child has knowingly consented. CPSW has attracted much media and policy attention in recent decades. The child’s specific vulnerability and protection needs have fostered a consensus at the international level to condemn the involvement of children in the sex trade. CPSW can put children at risk of violence, be gravely detrimental to their physical and emotional health and well-being, and ...