Statue of a young 19th-century prostituted child The White Slave by Abastenia St. Leger Eberle (1878–1942)
Areas practiced
Worldwide
Number affected
Up to 10 million[1]
Legal status
Illegal under international law and national laws
Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent.
In most jurisdictions, child prostitution is illegal as part of general prohibition on prostitution.
Child prostitution usually manifests in the form of sex trafficking, in which a child is kidnapped or tricked into becoming involved in the sex trade, or survival sex, in which the child engages in sexual activities to procure basic essentials such as food and shelter. Prostitution of children is commonly associated with child pornography, and they often overlap. Some people travel to foreign countries to engage in child sex tourism. Research suggests that there may be as many as 10 million children involved in prostitution worldwide.[1] The practice is most widespread in South America and Asia, but prostitution of children exists globally,[2] in undeveloped countries as well as developed.[3] Most of the children involved with prostitution are girls, despite an increase in the number of young boys in the trade.
All member countries of the United Nations have committed to prohibiting child prostitution, either under the Convention on the Rights of the Child or the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. Various campaigns and organizations have been created to try to stop the practice.
^ abWillis, Brian M.; Levy, Barry S. (April 20, 2002). "Child prostitution: global health burden, research needs, and interventions". Lancet. 359 (9315): 1417–22. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08355-1. PMID 11978356. S2CID 10141488.
^Lim 1998, p. 171.
^Jaffe & Rosen 1997, p. 10.
and 25 Related for: Child prostitution information
Childprostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution...
Childprostitution in Ukraine has been described by Juan Miguel Petit, Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, ChildProstitution and Child Pornography...
Thailand is a centre for child sex tourism and childprostitution. Even though domestic and international authorities work to protect children from sexual...
Prostitution is illegal in the vast majority of the United States as a result of state laws rather than federal laws. It is, however, legal in some rural...
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often...
The Franklin childprostitution ring allegations began in June 1988 in Omaha, Nebraska, when multiple prominent Nebraska political and business figures...
The index combined several key indicators, which are school enrolment, child survival, quality of learning, healthy growth and adult survival into a...
crawling, owning or managing a brothel, prostitution in a hotel, childprostitution, pimping and pandering are illegal. There are, however, many brothels...
Prostitution in Mexico is legal under Federal Law. Each of the 31 states enacts its own prostitution laws and policies. Thirteen of the states of Mexico...
forced into prostitution, even more so in the declining economy. A spokesman for the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, Karel de Rooy, said many child prostitutes...
Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result...
Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal...
Childprostitution is illegal. Penalties for pimps and clients of underage prostitutes range from four to eight years in prison. Childprostitution is...
Prostitution in Thailand is not itself illegal, but public solicitation for prostitution is prohibited if it is carried out "openly and shamelessly" or...
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, childprostitution and child pornography, and Canada became a signatory in...
Prostitution portal Sex work portal The legal status of prostitution in Africa varies widely. It is frequently common in practice, partially driven by...
Prostitution in Ukraine is illegal but widespread and largely ignored by the government. In recent times, Ukraine has become a popular prostitution and...
regarding adult prostitution differs by country, childprostitution is illegal throughout Europe. Similarly, human trafficking, forced prostitution, and other...
prostitution." Various provisions of different laws prohibit childprostitution, forced prostitution, solicitation and the keeping of unlicensed brothels. Vagrancy...
prostitution, though transvestite and male homosexual prostitution also exist to a lesser extent. Childprostitution also exists in certain tourism resort islands...
Childprostitution is prevalent in all major cities in West Africa with girls typically being the focus, as boys in the sex trade are often overlooked...
facilitating childprostitution. In 2015, the UK Government "legislated through the Serious Crime Act 2015 to remove all references to 'childprostitution' from...
Legality of prostitution in the Americas varies by country. Most countries only legalized prostitution, with the act of exchanging money for sexual services...
Prostitution is illegal in Russia. The punishment for engagement in prostitution is a fine from 1500 up to 2000 rubles. Moreover, organizing prostitution...
is a destination for sex tourism, including child sex tourism. Human trafficking and childprostitution are problems in the country. Madagascar has become...
Global Information