By Reet Nurmi
This article is based on a report drawn from 28 interviews done with representatives of Finnish organisations, agencies and outreach projects, all of whom come into contact with children who have experienced sexual abuse as part of child prostitution (Nurmi 2001). They were asked to present their observations on the sexual abuse of minors (under 18 years of age) for the purposes of prostitution, and for their opinions on whether youngsters get appropriate help and support from the authorities, NGOs and other adults. The aim of the study was to discuss the ways in which the respondents understand and deal with the child prostitution issue. Interviews with survivors of prostitution are also included in this study.
A taboo subject
The sexual abuse of minors (girls) poses a serious challenge to the professionals who are forced daily to address the life situations of young people. Investigating sexual abuse and intervening in it are ordeals for both. The more alien the form of sexual abuse is to the staff, the more strongly they will react. A defence mechanism is triggered. One interviewee helped me to understand this: "… if we admit the existence of child sexual abuse we can draw a straight line to the occurrence of child prostitution. I think that in a civilised state like this, where life is a bed of roses, if I suggest that we have child prostitution people would see it as something personal to me. …Somehow it seems so odd that we could have child prostitution…"
Sexual violence is seldom discussed at the first meeting when representatives of caring professions meet new clients. It may also be difficult for staff to ask personal questions. As some of them put it: "… it’s really difficult asking questions. It’s somehow such a taboo subject. Perhaps if something can be seen, then you can ask. If you have no suspicions it seems terribly offensive and intrusive."
The main themes that emerged in the interviews with the professionals were the commercialisation of sexuality and the sex-driven nature of violence against young people. The commercialisation of sexuality was above all seen in situations involving the use of drugs and alcohol and in the social interactions among those living in a marginal environment. This condition frequently creates situations in which young girls are compelled to take sexual risks, and risk-taking is ultimately understandable only in the context of social interactions in which trust and distrust are often in conflict. Children are unable to evaluate the risks involved in certain social situations.
The dominant culture
Many of the factors that place young people at risk and limit their life choices are of a social nature. We cannot separate child prostitution from other forms of prostitution, which makes this a complicated issue. Prostitution is a violent act against girls and women. It is linked to the prevailing culture and to attitudes in our society. The existence of the sex industry has an impact on the sex culture of young people, too. The sexual abuse of (women and) girls for the purposes of prostitution is underpinned by a whole array of complex factors associated with the dominant culture. According to my research, young girls often earn money to buy drugs by selling sex, which frequently amounts to the sexual abuse of girls for the purposes of prostitution.
It is not always easy to draw a line between commercial and non-commercial exploitation. Children are not necessarily aware of or able to understand what is going on, even in the case of sexual abuse for the purposes of prostitution. When they are offered, say, drugs in return for sex, the transaction is a commercial one but the children’s remuneration is non-commercial; the situation is nonetheless one of exploitation.
In the worst cases, children are recruited into institutionalised sex industries (prostitution, printed or electronic pornography/ or naked pictorial matter, trafficking in children and sex tourism), where they are subjected to gross abuse. Violence against children is hidden criminality. It can be seen as an element of violence against women and the violence linked to power structures, and easily takes forms that are not legally defined as crimes. Values and attitudes originating in the sex industry are very likely to have an impact on social intercourse between young people. One of the respondents asserted that: "… prostitution generates prostitution. If a person has the potential, they’ll get the idea from anywhere. …We don’t talk clearly enough about the harms or dangers of prostitution. The sex business is harrowing; it makes no difference at what age the involvement starts."
On the basis of my material, I have classified the abuse of minors for the purposes of prostitution as occurring in three contexts: 1) prostitution to finance a drug habit, 2) social intercourse leading to commercial exploitation and 3) abuse leading to prostitution. Broadly speaking I characterise the issue as a vicious circle of sexual abuse. In the words of a respondent:
"… Drugs and prostitution – …the sexual abuse comes first and then the victim tries to relieve the pain with drugs. They start using drugs because they feel so bad and then they start selling themselves, because that brings in the cash needed to buy the drugs. This is what we see here (..)"
1. Financing substance abuse with prostitution
Criminal offences such as stealing and petty larceny are widely linked to the financing of drugs and narcotics. The staff interviewed said that they see more boys than girls who pay for drugs through this sort of criminal activity. Criminal offences in general are more rare among girls. The interviewees indicated that it is the girls who realise that they can use their bodies to earn a living if that is all that is left. One respondent explained that: "… if your income depends on selling drugs, wielding a crowbar or selling yourself. Of these three alternatives for getting the drugs, which would a girl choose – not a knife anyhow. In that situation, selling oneself looks like the least damaging strategy. But I don’t think the young girls see it like that".’
It became clear from many of the interviews that the circle of friends inevitably narrows for young people living marginal lives. The young people had close social contacts mainly or only with other drug users or with their own marginal group. They felt an affinity with these people and thought that offering sex was part of the culture of the girl junkie. The situation is particularly problematic if the young girl has been abused and has no reliable adult to turn to for support and help.
2. From social intercourse to commercial exploitation: Make the girl earn
Usually a man who is older than the girl, and uses drugs, lures a young girl into keeping him company. According to the interviewees, the path of a young girl from companionship to prostitution has at the one end trust and security and at the other end control, abuse and violence. Drugs are an extremely effective means of compromising the child’s ability to control in that they take over your whole emotional life. One expert explained: "Youngsters say that it’s all part of this culture, even right from the start when they’re going out together. The boyfriend gets drugs for his girlfriend. But later when the boy isn’t, like, up to getting the drugs anymore he starts hinting to the girl that she could get them from John, but that of course she knows there’s no cash. And then John arrives and the girl has sex with him. And what’s more then the girl feels that that’s it and so they make sure of her fear that if she doesn’t … she’ll get beaten up or something."
The relationship between victims and perpetrators is also affected by the social context. The situation is particularly ambivalent when both victims and perpetrators are members of the same social network. The findings of the study suggest that the victims then often remain alone: either they do not talk about the incident for fear noone will believe them, or they do talk about it but find that they themselves end up as the object of suspicion. Perpetrators’ accounts may be more credible, as the violent side of their personality is not necessarily seen in ‘normal’ social communication.
3. From abuse to prostitution
"… these women often have abuse behind them, or then they have experience of being forced into sex against their will. ..If someone has experienced sexual violence, the problem will emerge clearly during the detox treatment. …I’ve never met a woman who regarded it [prostitution] as her profession. They all hope they’ll be able to come off drugs and at the same time finish with prostitution …" notes one therapist in her interview.
The interviewees whose work daily brings them into contact with sexually abused youngsters were of the clear opinion that abuse was very often a contributory factor to a young girl’s entrance into prostitution.
According to the interviewees, children who have lost the confidence of adults close to them are easy to expose to manipulation and enticement. The interviews, however, suggest that the guilty party in recruiting girls for commercial sexual abuse is more likely to be someone close to her, even a ‘boyfriend’ stamping his authority on the relationship. Another group comprises adult ‘ordinary men’, who use the services of prostitutes, and get pleasure out of pornography and striptease. There are two types of victims: those who have been raped, and those who have been carefully groomed by a perpetrator.
The key issues
Often the clients, young girls, do not dare talk about things related to violence, and cases of abuse are not dealt with. Sometimes the matter is concealed until the victim is well into adulthood, so the problem remains hidden. Prevention, protection and investigation are the key elements in the fight against the sexual abuse of minors.
The greatest anxiety experienced by the interviewees was that the caring professions and other organisations involved lack the capacity to deal with the sexual abuse of children in prostitution. The children suffer from a wide range of problems that need to be tackled by professionals from many different fields. For example, substance abuse professionals cannot help children with symptoms if they do not know about the serious crises, such as sexual abuse, in their clients’ lives. They need to be sufficiently informed about the children’s situations and need for help. Further, treatment is often delayed due to a lack of co-ordination among the units helping children as well as because of long queues for treatment. All the interviewees expressed genuine concern for the children. Generating a discussion about these problems in Finland and bringing them to the public’s notice were considered to be very important issues. Although the interviewees thought that the sexual abuse of children for prostitution purposes has not yet reached the level of a serious problem in Finland, they were unanimously of the opinion that "… even one case is one too many".
REET NURMI is Researcher for the Programme Prevention of Prostitution & Violence Against Women, STAKES, Finland
Notes
Nurmi, Reet (2001): Sexual Violence of Children for Purposes of Prostitution in the Helsinki Area-Results of the Research Carried Out within the Framework of STOP 2 Project. In ‘Minors in the Sex Trade‘/Jyrkinen, M. & Karjalainen, L. (eds.). Programme for the Prevention of Prostitution & Violence Against Women, STAKES & the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Helsinki 2001, 107-127. http://www.stakes.fi/sexviolence
