Sexual Exploitation of Children

Under federal law, child pornography¹is defined as a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where it

• depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or
• depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.²

Sexually explicit conduct includes various forms of sexual activity such as intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, and lascivious exhibition of the genitals.³ It is illegal to possess, distribute, or manufacture these images.

These illegal images can be presented in various forms including print media; videotape; film; compact disc, read-only memory (CD-ROM); or digital versatile technology (DVD)⁴ and can be transmitted through computer bulletin-board systems (BBS), USENET Newsgroups, Internet Relay Chat, web-based groups, peer-to-peer technology, and an array of constantly changing world wide web sites.⁵

All states and the District of Columbia have laws concerning child pornography. As a result a person who violates federal laws concerning these images may also face additional state charges.

Federal statute defines “minor” as any person younger than 18.⁶ “While a majority of states follow the federal statute, some state laws define ‘minor’ or ‘child’ as a youth younger than 14, 16, or 17.⁷ Delaware law includes any person 18 years of age and younger in its definition of a ‘child.’”⁸

Is Child Pornography a Crime?

Yes, the possession or distribution of child pornography is illegal under federal laws and laws in all 50 states; however, researchers and law-enforcement officials believe this crime is increasing and the increase is related to growing Internet use.⁹
In response to this growing crime, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDoJ) has responded in several ways including funding the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, www.cybertipline.com, acting as the national clearinghouse for reports of Internet-related child pornography and other Internet-related sex crimes committed against children. The USDoJ also created regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces to assist state and local law enforcement in handling these crimes and funded specialized Internet child exploitation units in federal law-enforcement agencies.¹⁰

Where is Child Pornography Predominately Found?

The Internet has created an exciting new world of information and communication for anyone with access to online services. While this technology offers unparalleled opportunities for children and adults to learn about the universe we live in, it has also had an immeasurable impact on the sexual exploitation of children, specifically the distribution of sexually exploitive images of children.

The development, increasing accessibility, and use of home-computer technology has revolutionized the distribution of these images by increasing the ease and decreasing the cost of production and distribution especially across international borders. Computer technology is transforming the production of these images into a “sophisticated global cottage industry.”¹¹

While the activities of most pornographers are rather covert, it is not unusual for adults and children to encounter illegal images while exploring legitimate areas of the Internet. A current study has estimated that “as much as 20 percent of all pornographic activity on the Internet may involve children”;¹² however, accurate estimates are difficult to produce since a reliable methodology to measure the actual extent of these images online has yet to be devised.¹³ Nonetheless parents and guardians should closely monitor the online activities of their children and always maintain access to their children’s online accounts.

What Motivates People Who Possess Child Pornography?

There is not much research about the motivations of people who possess child pornography. But, from the little information that exists, it suggests these people are a diverse group using this form of pornography for a variety of reasons.¹⁴ Those who possess child pornography include people who are

• sexually interested in prepubescent children (pedophiles) or young adolescents (hebephiles), who use child pornography for sexual fantasy and gratification
• sexually “indiscriminate,” meaning they are constantly looking for new and different sexual stimuli
• sexually curious, downloading a few images to satisfy that curiosity
• interested in profiting financially by selling images or setting up web sites requiring payment for access¹⁵

Who Possesses Child Pornography?

The diversity of these possessors is exemplified by many factors including wide age ranges; incomes ranging from poverty to wealth; levels of education running the gamut from some not finishing high school to others having post college degrees; and those who come from cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas. Some are well known, well thought of in their communities, and/or have high-profile jobs. Others seem isolated, seem to be obsessed with the Internet, and/or have long criminal histories.¹⁶

Almost all child-pornography possessors (estimated 1,713) arrested between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2001, were male, 91% were white, and 86% were older than 25. Only 3% were younger than 18. Most were unmarried at the time of their crime, either because they had never married (41%) or because they were separated, divorced, or widowed (21%). Thirty-eight (38%) percent were either married or living with partners.¹⁷

Of those estimated arrestees, most had pornographic images of prepubescent children (83%) and images graphically depicting sexual penetration (80%). Approximately 1 in 5 people arrested (21%) had images depicting sexual violence to children such as bondage, rape, and torture. More than 1 in 3 (39%) had child-pornography videos with motion and sound.¹⁸

Of those estimated arrestees, law enforcement found about half (48%) had more than 100 graphic still images, and 14% had 1,000 or more graphic images.¹⁹

Forty percent (40%) of those estimated arrestees were “dual offenders,” who sexually victimized children and possessed child pornography, with both crimes discovered in the same investigation. An additional 15% were dual offenders who attempted to sexually victimize children by soliciting undercover investigators who posed online as minors.²⁰

How Old Are the Children Found in These Images?

According to investigators who handled the cases of estimated arrestees, most had images of children who had not yet reached puberty. Specifically 83% had images of children between ages 6 and 12; 39% had images of 3 to 5 year old children; and 19% had images of toddlers or infants younger than age 3.²¹

Are the Children in the Images Boys or Girls?

According to investigators who handled the cases of estimated arrestees, 62% had pictures of mostly girls. Fourteen (14%) had pictures of mostly boys. Fifteen percent (15%) had pictures showing boys and girls in about equal numbers.²²

How Graphic Are the Images?

According to investigators who handled the cases of estimated arrestees, most had graphic images explicitly showing sexual acts by or on children. Specifically 92% had images of minors focusing on genitals or showing explicit sexual activity; 80% had pictures showing the sexual penetration of a child, including oral sex; 71% possessed images showing sexual contact between an adult and a minor, defined as an adult touching the genitals or breasts of a minor or vice-versa; 21% had child pornography depicting violence such as bondage, rape, or torture and most of those involved images of children who were gagged, bound, blindfolded, or otherwise enduring sadistic sex; and 79% also had what might be termed “softcore” images of nude or semi-nude minors, but only 1% possesses such images alone.²³

What Are the Effects of Child Pornography?

It is important to realize these images can have a devastating and lasting effect on children. In addition to any physical injuries they can suffer in the course of their molestation, such as genital bruising, lacerations, or exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, child victims can also experience depression, withdrawal, anger, and other psychological disorders.²⁴ Such effects may continue into adulthood. For instance women abused as children have statistically significant higher rates of nightmares, back pain, headaches, pelvic pain, eating binges, and other similar symptoms.²⁵ Child victims also frequently experience feelings of guilt and responsibility for the abuse and betrayal, a sense of powerlessness, and feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem.²⁶ These feelings are often expressed through increased fearfulness and changes in sleep patterns including re-occurring memories, flashbacks, dreams, and nightmares associated with posttraumatic stress.²⁷ Younger children tend to externalize stress by re-enacting sexual activities through play, while adolescents may experience negative effects on their growing sexuality as a result of inappropriate early sexual experiences.²⁸

The lives of children featured in these illegal images are forever altered, not only by the molestation but by the permanent record of the exploitation. Once sexual exploitation takes place, the molester may document these encounters on film or video. This documentation can then become the “ammunition” needed to blackmail the child into further submission, which is necessary to continue the relationship and maintain its secrecy. In addition these documented images allow molesters to “relive” their sexual fantasies with children long after the exploitation has stopped.

A greater number of child molesters are now using computer technology to organize and maintain their collections of these illegal images. In addition they are also using the Internet to increase the size of these collections. Personally manufactured illegal images of children are especially valuable on the Internet, which provides the molester with a respected status among fellow exploiters and traders of this material. Once this status is achieved, molesters will often begin to trade images of their own sexual exploits with children among themselves.

When these images reach cyberspace, they are irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever. Thus the child is revictimized as the images are viewed again and again.

How Do Online Predators Find Children?

Individuals looking for potential child victims online have no difficulty finding them. It is quite common for these offenders to frequent “kids only” chat rooms and communicate with children who unwittingly divulge personal information about themselves. A more recent phenomenon is the solicitation of sex over the Internet. A survey conducted by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire found that one in five youth who regularly use the Internet received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in 1999.²⁹

After this initial meeting, child predators will often continue to communicate with the child electronically or through other means. Some of these individuals may then attempt to lower the child’s inhibitions by gradually introducing sexual content into their online conversations and even send pornographic images to the child. When children are shown images of peers engaged in sexual activities, they are led to believe that this behavior is acceptable. This lowers their inhibitions and makes it easier for the molester to take advantage of the child sexually.

Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to speak openly with their children about online dangers and monitor their online activities.

End Notes
¹As stated by Janis Wolak, Kimberly Mitchell, and David Finkelhor in Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, November 2003, page vii), “The term ‘child pornography,’ because it implies simply conventional pornography with child subjects, is an inappropriate term to describe the true nature and extent of sexually exploitive images of child victims. Use of this term should not be taken to imply that children ‘consented’ to the sexual acts depicted in these photographs; however, it is the term most readily recognized by the public, at this point in time, to describe this form of child sexual exploitation. It is used in this [document] to refer to illegal pictorial material involving children under the standards developed by statute, case law, and law-enforcement-agency protocols. It is hoped that a more accurate term will be recognized, understood, and accepted for use in the near future.”
²18 U.S.C. § 1466A and 18 U.S.C. § 2256.
³Id.
⁴Eva J. Klain, Heather J. Davies, Molly A. Hicks. Child Pornography: The Criminal-Justice-System Response (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, March 2001, page 1) [hereinafter Response], citing Daniel S. Armagh, Nick L. Battaglia, and Kenneth V. Lanning, Use of Computers in the Sexual Exploitation of Children, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999, page 6.
⁵Response, supra note 4, page 1.
⁶Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly Mitchell. Child-Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings From the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2005, page ix) [hereinafter Possessors] citing 18 U.S.C. § 2256(1).)
⁷Possessors, page ix-x citing research conducted by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in December 2004 which found, in regard to state statutes criminalizing possession of child pornography, 37 states define “minor” or “child” as a youth younger than the age of 18 (Alaska, ALASKA STAT. § 11.61.127(a); Arizona, ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 13-3551(5); California, CAL. PENAL CODE § 311.11(a); Colorado, COLO. REV. STAT. § 18-6-403(2)(a); Connecticut, CONN. GEN. STAT. § 1-1d; Florida, FLA. STAT. ch. 827.01(2); Georgia, GA. CODE ANN. § 16-12-100(a)(1); Hawaii, HAW. REV. STAT. § 707-752(2); Idaho, IDAHO CODE § 8-1507(2)(b); Illinois, 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/11-20.1(6); Iowa, IOWA CODE § 728.1(4); Kansas, KAN. STAT. ANN. § 21-3516(a)(2); Kentucky, KY. REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 2.015, 500.080(9); Massachusetts, MASS. GEN. LAWS ch. 272, § 29C; Michigan, MICH. COMP. LAWS § 750.145c(b); Minnesota, MINN. STAT. § 617.246(1)(b); Mississippi, MISS. CODE ANN. § 97-5-31(a); Missouri, MO. REV. STAT. § 573.010(2); Montana, MONT. CODE ANN. §§ 45-5-625, 45-8-205; New Mexico, N.M. STAT. ANN. § 30-6A-3(A); North Carolina, N.C. GEN. STAT. § 14-190.13(3); North Dakota, N.D. CENT. CODE § 12.1-27.2-05(1); Ohio, OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 2907.01(M); Oklahoma, OKLA. STAT. tit. 21, § 1024.1(A); Oregon, OR. REV. STAT. § 163.665(1); Pennsylvania, 18 PA. CONS. STAT. § 6312(d)(1); Rhode Island, R.I. GEN. LAWS § 11-9-1.3(c)(3); South Carolina, S.C. CODE ANN. § 16-15-375(3); South Dakota, S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 22-22-24.1(3); Tennessee, TENN. CODE ANN. § 39-17-1002(3); Texas, TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 43.26(a); Utah, UTAH CODE ANN. § 76-5a-2(5); Virginia, VA. CODE ANN. § 18.2-374.1:1(A); Washington, WASH. REV. CODE § 9.68A.011(4); West Virginia, W. VA. CODE § 61-8C-1(a); Wisconsin, WIS. STAT. § 948.01(1); Wyoming, WYO. STAT. ANN. § 6-4-303(a)(i)); 3 define “minor” or “child” as a youth younger than the age of 17 (Alabama, ALA. CODE § 13A-12-192; Arkansas, ARK. CODE ANN. § 5-27-302(1); and Louisiana, LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 14:81.1(A)(3)); 7 define “minor” or “child” as a youth younger than the age of 16 (Indiana, IND. CODE § 35-42-4-4(c); Maryland, MD. CODE ANN., Crim. Law § 11-208(a); Nevada, NEV. REV. STAT. 200.730; New Hampshire, N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 649-A:2(I); New Jersey, N.J. STAT. ANN. § 2C: 24-4(b)(1); New York, N.Y. PENAL LAW § 263.16; and Vermont, VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 13, § 2821(1)); and 1 defines “minor” or “child” as a youth younger than the age of 14 (Maine, ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 17, § 2924(2-A)).
The age of a “child” in Nebraska depends on whether the child is a participant (younger than 18 years of age) or a portrayed observer (younger than 16 years of age). NEB. REV. STAT. § 28-1463.02(1).
In the District of Columbia, possession of child pornography with the intent to disseminate may be prosecuted under the general obscenity statute; however, mere possession is not mentioned. D.C. CODE ANN. § 22-2201(a)(1)(E). There are two criminal offenses that address “sexual performances using minors”: “using a minor in a sexual performance” and “promoting a sexual performance by a minor.” D.C. CODE ANN. § 22-3102. For these offenses, “minor” is defined as any person younger than 16 years of age. D.C. CODE ANN. §§ 22-3101(2), 22-3102.
⁸Possessors, supra note 6, page x citing DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 11, § 1103(e).
⁹Possessors, supra note 6, page ix.
¹⁰Id.
¹¹Response, supra note 4, page 3, citing Child Pornography: An International Perspective, World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Stockholm, Sweden, August 27-31, 1996, page 9.
¹²Response, supra note 4, page 3, citing Allotted Day on Child Pornography, 36th Parliament, 1st Session, Edited Hansand 1, No. 172, February 2, 1999, page 12.
¹³Response, supra note 4, page 3.
¹⁴Possessors, supra note 6, page x citing Response, supra note 4 and M. Taylor and E. Quayle. Child pornography: An Internet crime. Hove: Brunner-Routledge, 2003.
¹⁵Possessors, supra note 6, page x.
¹⁶Id., page 2-3.
¹⁷Id., page 1-2.
¹⁸Id., page vii.
¹⁹Id., page 7.
²⁰Id., page viii.
²¹Id., page 4.
²²Id., page 5.
²³Id.
²⁴Response, supra note 4, page 10, citing Bentovim and Bentovim, “The Effects on Children and Their Families” in Organized Abuse: The Current Debate, page 60-62 [hereinafter Effects on Children].
²⁵Response, supra note 4, page 10, citing Jeanne McCauley, David E. Kern, Ken Kolodner, et al., Clinical Characteristics of Women with a History of Childhood Abuse: Unhealed Wounds, 277 JAMA 1197, page 1362.
²⁶Response, supra note 4, page 10, citing Heather Y. Swanston, Jennifer S. Tebbutt, Brian I. O’Toole, and R. Kim Oates, Sexually Abused Children 5 Years After Presentation: A Case-Control Study, 100 Pediatrics, 1997, page 600, 603.
²⁷Response, supra note 4, page 10, citing Effects on Children, supra note 24, page 60-62.
²⁸Id.
²⁹Response, supra note 4, page 7, citing David Finkelhor, Kimberly Mitchell, and Janis Wolak, Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, page ix.

Prostitution is generally defined as performing, offering, or agreeing to perform a sexual act for any money, property, token, object, article, or anything of value.¹ Prostitution of children, therefore, is defined as the sexual exploitation of a child for remuneration in cash or in-kind, usually but not always organized by an intermediary such as a procurer, family member, pimp, or madame.

Hundreds of thousands of children have been lured into prostitution.² Though the prostitution of female children is more widely publicized, male children are also susceptible to the same dangers as females in this world of exploitation.

Dangers to Children

The dangers children face as a result of prostitution are both immediate and long-term. Most immediate is the physical, mental, and emotional violence these children experience at the hands of pimps, madams, and customers. Long-term dangers include health problems, drug addictions, adverse psychological effects, and even death. The most tangible consequence for children involved in prostitution is the extremely high probability of suffering violent assault. Not only are child victims of prostitution in danger from street life and pimps who prey on them, but the customers also pose great risks including forced perversion, rape, and physical abuse and beatings. At least two thirds are victimized by both customers and pimps.³ Violence from pimps tends to be more frequent, and violence by customers is more dangerous but sporadic.⁴ Prostituted children are often afraid to report these crimes to law enforcement because they are embarrassed and fearful that the charges would not be taken seriously or they may be arrested themselves.

What Are Some of the Causes of this Crime?

Homelessness, poverty, and intolerance of their sexual orientation may all affect children who either are or have been prostituted. General psychological and emotional problems, housing instability, substance abuse, educational and vocational failure, and major problems at home have all been cited as common precipitating factors in the lives of prostituted children.⁵ The children's young age, lack of education, and lack of the necessary street sense to survive alone⁶ contribute to their need to engage in survival sex, or the exchange of sex for food, money, shelter, drugs, or protection that defines many of these young people's lives.⁷

Long-Term Psychological Effects to Children

Children who experience inappropriate sexual activity of a violent or nonviolent nature, are psychologically impacted by a combination of the trauma of the assault itself coupled with the distorted information exploiters use to justify their sexual behavior. Some of the many psychological effects of assault may be revealed through the child suffering from depression, disassociation, and posttraumatic shock. To cope with their painful reality, more than three quarters are diagnosed as abusing drugs or alcohol as a temporary escape.⁸ The existence of a drug culture in street life is truly a double-edged sword. Being sexually exploited through prostitution may result in a higher risk of substance abuse, and abusing substances places children at a higher risk for prostitution.⁹ Prostituted children may internalize feelings of guilt for their participation in sexual acts which may lead to additional promiscuity or the engagement in other reckless behaviors.

Children on the streets are not only more likely to be clinically depressed, but they are also twice as likely to have a serious mental-health problem and almost twice as likely to be actively suicidal or to have previously attempted suicide.¹⁰ In one group of youth involved in prostitution, who were interviewed in shelters, 71 percent reported suicidal ideation, 33 percent had a lethal plan, and 14 percent reported a previous attempt at suicide.¹¹

What Are the Trends in Prostitution in the United States?

Many child victims of prostitution are only 11 or 12 years old, and some are as young as 9.¹² The average age at which they enter prostitution is reported as 14, and the median age of involved youth is 15.5 years.¹³ These children come from inner cities, suburbs, and small towns, and there appears to be an increase in the recruitment of middle-class youth from schools and shopping malls in the suburbs.¹⁴ The vast majority of youth involved in prostitution are girls,¹⁵ although some service providers see an increase in the number of boys. Some attribute this to a greater willingness by boys to disclose their sexual activities.¹⁶ Larger cities are more likely to have a higher proportion of boys involved in prostitution; however, service providers in smaller cities report seeing an increase in prostitution activities.¹⁷ "Prostitution is a seasonal problem. It is most prevalent during the warmer months and in cities with warmer climates. During the peak seasons for prostitution in the larger cities throughout the United States, there can be as many as 500 prostitutes on the streets. At least 25-30 percent of those prostitutes are children younger than 18."¹⁸

Child victims of prostitution are not running from poverty, rather in many cases they are running away from a dysfunctional family where they suffered physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. The children who become involved in prostitution have often suffered previous physical or sexual abuse and may be dealing with the attendant anger and low self-esteem.¹⁹ They may engage in delinquent or criminal activity, causing others to view them more as offenders than victims.²⁰ And they very likely to, and often with good reason, have a distrust of adults, even those who want to help them.

These children crave attention, affection, and love. This can make the child vulnerable to manipulation by a pimp, a madame, or another person or group seeking to exploit the child. Initially a pimp seduces the child by providing comfort, protection, and understanding.²¹ As he gains the child's trust, he further alienates the child, increasing the child's dependency on him.²² Once a child is financially and emotionally dependent on a pimp, he introduces the child to the world of commercial sexual exploitation.²³ Pimps control 80 to 90 percent of prostitution and can be men or women.²⁴

A common trend in the prostitution of children involves taking the child far from home to both avoid immediate detection and decrease the chances of the child returning home. The child's exploiter may travel with the child to many cities depending on tourist or event traffic in certain areas of the country.

The prostitution of children is the most overlooked form of child exploitation in the United States. The issue is often treated as a nuisance crime by local law enforcement. There is also the misconception that juveniles are willing participants in their own victimization. Having experienced unimaginable exploitation, they are truly victims in desperate need of help. Professionals from a variety of disciplines including the court system, law enforcement, and victim's service agencies must increase their collective efforts to combat this problem.

End Notes
¹18 U.S.C. 2431, 2423(a).
²R.J. Estes and Neil A. Weiner. The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children In the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, 2001, pages 11-12, Estes and Weiner summarized research findings regarding the nature, extent, possible causes, and other factors associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The authors used a variety of research methods including interviews, focus groups, and conferences. They report 293,746 children either living at home or on the streets were child victims of prostitution during the 27-month period from January 1, 1999, to March 21, 2001.
³Eva J. Klain. Prostitution of Children and Child-Sex Tourism: An Analysis of Domestic and International Responses. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 1999, page 7 [hereinafter Analysis of Responses], citing Jean Faugier and Mary Sargeant, "Boyfriends, 'Pimps' and Clients" in Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing Sex in the 1990's, Scambler & Scambler eds., London: Routledge, 1997, page 124.
⁴Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 7, citing Debra Whitcomb and Julie Eastin. Joining Forces Against Child Sexual Exploitation: Models for a Multijurisdictional Approach. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998, page 37 [hereinafter Joining Forces].
⁵Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 3.
⁶Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 2, citing Mimi H. Silbert and Ayala M. Pines, "Entrance into Prostitution", 13 Youth & Society, 1982, pages 471, 473 [hereinafter Entrance into Prostitution].
⁷Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 2, citing Richard T. Sullivan, "The Challenge of HIV Prevention Among High-Risk Adolescents," 21 Health and Social Work, 1996, pages 58, 60.
⁸Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 9, citing Beth E. Molnar et al., "Suicidal Behavior and Sexual/Physical Abuse Among Street Youth," 22 Child Abuse and Neglect, 1998, page 219.
⁹Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 9, citing Debra Whitcomb, Edward De Vos, and Barbara E. Smith. Program to Increase Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation, Final Report, Educational Development Center, Inc., and ABA Center on Children and the Law, 1998, page 21 [hereinafter Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation].
¹⁰Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 8.
¹¹Id.
¹²Id., page 2, citing Entrance into Prostitution, supra note 6, page 473.
¹³Id., page 2, citing Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation, supra note 9.
¹⁴Id., page 2, citing Joining Forces, supra note 4, page 36.
¹⁵Id., page 2, citing Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation, supra note 9, page 3.
¹⁶Id.
¹⁷Id.
¹⁸Joe Haggarty. Material presented at the Prostitution and Related Offenses Workshop on October 15, 1997, at the Metropolitan Police Department Training Center, in Washington, D.C.
¹⁹Analysis of Responses, supra note 3, page 1.
²⁰Id.
²¹Id., page 4.
²²Id.
²³Id.
²⁴Id., page 5, citing Kathleen Barry. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York, New York: University Press 1995, page 198.

Sex tourism is defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with others. Sex tourism of children would therefore be defined as traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child younger than the age of 18. It is against the law for any citizen of the United States to travel to another country to engage in sexual activity with any child younger than the age of 18.¹ Individuals who partake in this illegal activity are subject to prosecution in the United States even if they committed the crime on foreign soil.

While much of the initial international attention on sex tourism of children focused on Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia, there is no hemisphere, continent, or region unaffected by this trade. As countries develop their economies and tourism industries, this form of tourism seems to surface.

Economic difficulties, civil unrest, poverty, and displacement of refugees all contribute to the growth of this industry.² The United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF) released a report in 1997 estimating more than 1 million children, overwhelmingly female, are forced into prostitution every year, the majority in Asia.³

End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), however, also reports increasing evidence of children being exploited in former Eastern Bloc countries. Reports of children entering prostitution, being exploited by foreigners and aid workers, and trafficked to Western European brothels are coming from the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.⁴

Introduction

To many governments around the world, international tourism can be the answer to economic growth and development. Tourism also brings consumerism to many parts of the world formerly denied access to luxury commodities and services. Growing consumerism and the commodification of sexuality may also be contributing to an increase in sex tourism of children.⁵

Why Does It Occur?

Children will continue to be victimized by these sexual predators for many reasons including

• Anonymity

• Availability

• Affordability

• Lack of child-protection laws in foreign countries

• Low risk of detection

Role of the Internet

Unfortunately there are still numerous small travel companies throughout the world that promote sex tourism of children by identifying resorts where prostitution is widespread. Because these companies are so small, they rarely draw attention from law enforcement.⁶

In addition the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the growth of the sex-tourism-of-children industry. Some Internet chatrooms, message boards, and online organizations not only encourage this form of tourism, but give detailed instructions about how to partake in it.⁷

The various areas of the Internet allow offenders to communicate with others who have already traveled to another country for this purpose. From the comfort of their own homes, they can plan their vacation and purchase their tickets with relative anonymity.

Statistics

Although it is nearly impossible to provide accurate statistics about the number of children involved in prostitution, the examples below provide an overview of the problem⁸

• Cambodia: As of 1995 one survey found minors from 13 to 17 years of age comprised about 31 percent of sex workers.⁹

• China: As of 1994 the Peking People's Daily reported more than 10,000 women and children were abducted and sold each year in Sichaun alone.¹⁰

• Costa Rica: The capital city of San Jose is home to more than 2,000 child prostitutes. Across the country, children are regularly sold to foreign pedophiles as part of sex-tour "packages."¹¹

• India: In 1995, 20 percent of Bombay's brothel population was composed of girls who were younger than 18, at least half of whom were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive.¹²

• Sri Lanka: 100,000 children between the ages of 6 and 14 are kept in brothels and an additional 5,000 children between 10 and 18 are working in tourist areas.¹³

• Taiwan: Estimates indicate the number of children in the sex industry to be around 100,000.¹⁴

End Notes
¹18 U.S.C. 2423b.
²Eva J. Klain. Prostitution of Children and Child-Sex Tourism: An Analysis of Domestic and International Responses. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 1999, page 33 [hereinafter Analysis of Responses].
³Charlotte Bunch. The Intolerable Status Quo: Violence Against Women and Girls, 1997, visited April 12, 2003, http://www.unicef.org/pon97/women1.htm.
⁴Analysis of Responses, supra note 2, page 35.
⁵Id., page 36.
⁶Id., page 42.
⁷Id., page 37.
⁸Id., page 33.
⁹Id., page 33, citing End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), Country Reports, last modified Aug. 21, 1996 http://www.rb.se/ecpat/country.htm (quoting Vitit Muntarbhorn, Washington, 1995) [hereinafter Country Reports].
¹⁰Id., page 33, citing Country Reports, supra note 9.
¹¹Id., page 34, citing Dorianne Beyer, "Child Prostitution in Latin America" in Forced Labor: The Prostitution of Children. Jaffee and Rosen, eds., U.S. Department of Labor, 1996, page 39 [hereinafter Forced Labor].
¹²Id., page 34, citing Forced Labor, supra note 11, page 39; Kathleen Barry, The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York: New York University Press, 1995, page 173; and Douglas Hodgson, Sex Tourism and Child Prostitution in Asia: Legal Responses and Strategies, 19 Melb. U. L. Rev., 1994, pages 512, 515 [hereinafter Sex Tourism].
¹³Id., page 34, citing Country Reports, supra note 9; and Sex Tourism, supra note 12, page 514.
¹⁴Id., page 34, citing Country Reports, supra note 9.

Every child is vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Child victims can be boys as well as girls and older as well as younger.

Child molestation can include

• Fondling or touching

• "Flashing" or exposing adult genitals to a child

• Showing sexually explicit material to a child

• So called "normal" sexual activity such as vaginal or anal intercourse or oral stimulation of the genitals

• So called "deviant" sexual activity such as urination, defecation, sadomasochism, or bondage

Child molesters can use many methods such as

• Coaxing or persuading a child into sexual activity

• Overpowering or threatening to harm a child into sexual activity

Child molesters most often manipulate child victims into complying with sexual activity by "grooming" them with attention, affection, and gifts over a period of time. Sometimes this "grooming" is aimed at the parent of very young children in order for the child molester to obtain the family's trust and thereby gain access to the child.

Adapted from Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis. Copyright © 2001 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.
 

Signs of Sexual Exploitation in Children

Parents, grandparents, and guardians should be aware of the signs noted below that could indicate your child has been sexually molested. You should note that some of these behaviors may have other explanations, but it is important to assist your child no matter what the cause of these symptoms or behaviors.

• Changes in behavior, extreme mood swings, withdrawal, fearfulness, and excessive crying

• Bed-wetting, nightmares, fear of going to bed, or other sleep disturbances

• Acting out inappropriate sexual activity or showing an unusual interest in sexual matters

• A sudden acting out of feelings or aggressive or rebellious behavior

• Regression to infantile behavior; clinging

• School or behavioral problems

• Changes in toilet-training habits

• A fear of certain places, people, or activities

• Bruises, rashes, cuts, limping, multiple or poorly explained injuries

• Pain, itching, bleeding, fluid, or rawness in the private areas

If you observe any of these behaviors, talk to your child about the causes. Behavioral changes such as these may be due to causes other than sexual exploitation such as a medical, family, or school problem. Also keep in mind that sometimes children do not always demonstrate obvious signs such as these but may do or say something that hints at the exploitation.

Information adapted from Just in Case...Parental guidelines in case you are considering daycare and Parental guidelines in case your child might someday be a victim of sexual exploitation. Copyright © respectively 1989 and 2003 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

What to Do If a Child Discloses Sexual Exploitation

If your child discloses sexual exploitation, how you react is an important part of child protection.

Don't

• Underreact to or minimize the information

• Overreact to the information or panic

• Criticize or blame your child

Do

• Respect your child's privacy

• Support your child and the decision to tell

• Show physical affection, and express love and support with words and gestures

• Explain to your child that he or she has done nothing wrong

• Help your child understand it was the offender's responsibility, not your child's

• Remember that children seldom lie about acts of sexual exploitation

• Keep the lines of communication open

• Seek appropriate medical care for your child

• Notify law enforcement

• Alert the child-protection, youth-services, child-abuse, or other appropriate social-services organizations in cooperation with law enforcement

• Consider the need for counseling or therapy for your child and the entire family

Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's 24-hour, toll-free telephone line to report any information about missing or sexually exploited children at 1-800-843-5678. This number is available throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The TDD Hotline is 1-800-826-7653.

Often children do not disclose about incidents of sexual exploitation. It is up to attentive adults to recognize the signs of sexual exploitation.

Adapted from Just in case...Parental guidelines in case your child might someday be the victim of sexual exploitation. Copyright © 1985 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

What You Can Do to Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children

As a society our efforts to prevent crimes against children have not kept pace with the increasing vulnerability of our children. People are often surprised to learn that many crimes that are committed against children can be prevented. The most effective key to child safety is effective communication with your child.

What You Can Do to Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children

What Families Can Do

• Listen to your children. Pay attention if they tell you that they don't want to be with someone or go somewhere.

• Take the time to talk to your children. Encourage open communication and learn how to be an active listener.

• Notice when someone shows one or all of your children a great deal of attention or begins giving them gifts.

• Teach your children that they have the right to say no to any unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by others. Teach them to immediately tell you if this happens. Reassure them that you're there to help and it is okay to tell you anything.

• Be sensitive to any changes in your children's behavior or attitude.

• Look and listen to small cues and clues that something may be troubling your children, because children are not always comfortable disclosing disturbing events or feelings.

• If your children do confide problems to you, strive to remain calm, noncritical, and nonjudgmental. Listen compassionately to their concern, and work with them to get the help they need to resolve the problem.

• Be sure to screen babysitters and caregivers. Many states now have a public registry that allows parents to check out individuals for prior criminal records and sex offenders. Check references with other families who have used the caregiver or babysitter. Once you have chosen the caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask your children how the experience with the caregiver was, and carefully listen to the response.

• Provide oversight and supervision of your children's computer use. Know who they're communicating with online and where they may have access to computers. Establish rules and guidelines for computer use for your children.

• Be involved in your children's activities. As an active participant, you'll have a better opportunity to observe how the adults in charge interact with your children.

• Work with your children's school to institute sound child-safety programs as part of their curriculum.

• Practice basic safety skills with your children and discuss their safety openly and honestly. There is no substitute for your attention and supervision. Being available and taking time to really know and listen to your children helps build feelings of safety and security.

Excerpted from Child Protection and Preventing the Sexual Exploitation of Children. Copyright © respectively 1985 and 2003 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

What You Can Do to Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Basic Rules of Safety for Children

• If you are in a public place, and you get separated from your parents, grandparents, or guardians don't wander around looking for them. Go to a checkout counter, the security office, or the lost and found and quickly tell the person in charge that you have lost your family and need help in finding them.

• You should not get into a car or go anywhere with any person unless your parents, grandparents, or guardians have told you that it is okay.

• If someone follows you on foot or in a car, stay away from him or her. You don't need to go near the car to talk to the people inside.

• Grownups and others who need help should not be asking children for help; they should be asking older people.

• No one should be asking you for directions or to look for a "lost puppy" or telling you that your family is in trouble and that he or she will take you to them.

• If someone tries to take you somewhere, quickly get away from him (or her) and yell or scream, "This man/woman is trying to take me away," or "This person is not my father/mother/grandmother/grandfather/guardian."

• You should try to take a friend with you, and never go places alone.

• Always ask your parents', grandparents', or guardians' permission to leave the yard or play area or to go into someone's home.

• Never hitchhike or try to get a ride home with anyone unless your parents, grandparents, or guardians have told you it is okay to ride with him or her.

• No one should ask you to keep a secret. If he or she does, tell your parents, grandparents, guardians, or teacher.

• If someone wants to take your picture, tell him or her no and tell your parents, grandparents, guardians, or teacher.

• No one should touch you in the parts of the body covered by the bathing suit, nor should you touch anyone else in those areas. Your body is special and private.

• You can be assertive, and you have the right to say no to someone who tries to take you somewhere; touches you; or makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused in any way.

Excerpted from Child Protection and Preventing the Sexual Exploitation of Children. Copyright © respectively 1985 and 2003 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.

Online enticement, the use of the Internet to entice, invite, or persuade a child to meet for sexual acts or to help arrange such a meeting, is a serious offense.¹

The Internet holds tremendous potential for our nation's youth; however, the misuse of the Internet to prey on them is a serious problem requiring action by legislators, families, communities, and law enforcement.²

There are risks for children who use the Internet or online services. Teenagers are particularly at risk because they often use the computer unsupervised and are more likely than younger children to participate in online discussions regarding companionship, relationships, or sexual activity. A child might provide information or arrange an encounter that could risk his or her safety or the safety of other family members.

Predators have used E-mail, instant messages, bulletin boards, and chat areas to gain a child's confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting. This sometimes leads to the child traveling to meet the person he or she is chatting with or the person traveling to meet the child. Sometimes the other party is an adult whose intent is to have sex with the child.³

Based on a study of 1,500 Internet users, ages 10 to 17, approximately one in seven received an unwanted sexual solicitation between 1999 and 2000. Four percent of these youths experienced an aggressive solicitation, where the solicitor attempted to contact the child offline. Only five percent of these solicitations were reported to law enforcement, an Internet service provider, or other authority.⁴

What is Being Done About this Problem?

Law-enforcement officials are tracking down an ever-increasing number of “predators” on the Internet. There is now more specialized training available to law-enforcement regarding this issue.⁵ State and local task forces are forming at ever-increasing numbers to combat Internet-related child exploitation. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 46 Internet Crimes Against Children task force units have been set up nationwide and currently focus on child sexual exploitation online. One of the most important tools for law-enforcement personnel and families was the development of NCMEC’s CyberTipline. This online reporting mechanism has initiated numerous investigations and arrests of child predators.

What Can Be Done to Prevent This From Happening?

The responsibility of preventing and resolving Internet crimes against children is not merely a federal or local issue. Technology has demonstrated it to be a global responsibility, because it can be a borderless crime. By informing communities about the many existing resources available and having caregivers taking a more active role, we can make the journey through cyberspace safer for children.

¹18 U.S.C. 2425.
²Janis Wolak, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and David Finkelhor. Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. Alexandria, Virginia. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2006, vii.
³Lawrence J. Magid. Child Safety on the Information Highway. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 1998, page 3-4.
⁴Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later, supra pages 1 and 2.
⁵David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2000, page 35.

Signs that Your Child May Be at Risk Online

If your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night, your child may be at risk.

Many children who fall victim to Internet sex offenders spend large amounts of time online, particularly in chatrooms. They may go online after dinner and on the weekends and would rather spend time online than "hang out" with other peers from their school or neighborhood. They may be children whose families have told them to stay at home alone after school. They go online to chat with friends, make new friends, pass time, and sometimes look for sexually explicit information. While much of the knowledge and experience gained may be valuable, families should consider monitoring the amount of time their children are online.

You find pornography on your child's computer.

Children curious about sex may seek out information online; however, pornography is often used in the sexual victimization of children. Sex offenders often supply their potential victims with pornography as a means of opening sexual discussions and for lowering the child's inhibitions. Parents, grandparents, and guardians should be conscious of the fact that a child may hide the pornographic files on diskettes from them. This may be especially true if the computer is used by other family members.

Your child receives telephone calls from men or women you don't know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you do not recognize.

While communicating to a child victim online is a thrill for an Internet sex offender, it can also be very cumbersome. Most want to talk to the children on the telephone to actually hear the child's voice. They may attempt to engage in "phone sex" with the children and also may seek to set up an actual meeting for a real sexual encounter. While a child may be hesitant to give out his or her home telephone number, Internet sex offenders will usually give out their contact information. Sometimes the offender will provide the child means to contact him or her through avenues that may avoid detection by their caregivers.

Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don't know.

It is common for offenders to send letters, photographs, and all manner of gifts to their potential victims to increase the likelihood that the child will respond positively to him or her. Computer-sex offenders have even sent plane tickets in order for the child to travel across the country to meet them.

Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room.

A child looking at pornographic images or having sexually explicit conversations does not want you to see it on the screen.

Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.

Internet sex offenders may attempt to drive a wedge between children and their families. They may attempt to accentuate any minor problems at home that the child might have and portray themselves as the only one the child can trust. A child may also become withdrawn or explosive after sexual victimization.

Your child is using an online account belonging to someone else.

Even if you don't subscribe to an online or Internet service, your child may meet an offender while online at a friend's house or the library. Most computers come preloaded with online and/or Internet software. In addition children may set up "free" E-mail accounts such as those that their parents, grandparents, and guardians may not be able to access without the child's user ID and password.

Adapted from A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1999, visited June 19, 2003, http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm.