Детская проституция

required assistance from service providers, especially in relation to attempts at self-harm and suicide, It was not conducive to our work to use terms which further alienated young people and made them reluctant to seek help. Our term 'sex for favors' has been accepted by service providers in South Australia as a neutral and non-judgmental way of speaking about the sensitive issues associated with young people having sex with adults for some kind of gain. ECPAT Australia has also recently acknowledged the term 'sex for favors' as a way of describing the experiences of some young people (ECPAT 1997),

Sexual exploration and sexual identity

The second point that emerged from our research in Adelaide was that the exchanges of sex for favors may sometimes associated with young people's search for sexual identity. In a few instances indications were that some young men exchanged sex for favors with other men not only as a survival tactic but also as a way of exploring bisexuality and homosexuality. Carlos Caceres research in Lima, Peru explores the nuances of young men's sexual negotiations with older men in greater detail. Some young men who identify as 'fletes' (young men in this study who were 16 to 19 years old and who went to areas that we might call 'beats' to have sex with other men for money or some other kind of remuneration) strongly identify as heterosexual and deny that they are sexually interested in their clients or homosexuality. Other young men in this study acknowledged that they might be bisexual or even part of the gay community in Peru (Caceres ana Jimenez, forthcoming}. In both of these instances in Australia and in Peru to employ the term 'child prostitute' or to deny that some element of exploration exists in some instances would misrepresent the experiences of these young people. At times it is necessary to look past the framework of prostitution or pedophilia and focus on the words and experiences of children and young people without making immediate value judgements,

c. Age matters

The final point, which may be relevant from our research experience in Adelaide, is that age matters. It is crucial to specify the age groups with which one is working or to which one refers in research and the media, We interviewed young people aged 12 to 23 years old and it was clear that the experience of life on the street was significantly different for very young interviewees. For example, some very young people interviewed had not had sex yet but knew about opportunities to exchange sex for favors and considered it something that they might do in the future. Clearly the health and education needs of these young people differ from older teenagers who are already involved in sex for favors. Initially this subtlety was one of the most difficult to convey to the media when I spoke to journalists about our research and findings. The desire to provide simple summaries for maximum 'reader impact' is strong, but it is essential to be clear about the ages of the 'children' involved in studies or who are served by NGO programs.

Our research findings have been confirmed by other studies. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has been at the forefront of research into child and youth involvement in sex work. The 1996 report "In the Twilight Zone" concluded from four country studies that most "child prostitutes" are in fact better described as youth or young people. The report which focuses on child and youth workers in the hotel, tourism and catering industries in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Mexico found no individual who sold sex on a regular basis was younger than 15 nor had any interviewee begun this work younger than 14 years old. Once again I hasten to add that this does not mean that abuse of very young or prepubescent children never occurs. All too sadly it does. However, I am in agreement with the ILO that cases which involve very young children or clearly involve physical and sexual abuse are more accurately described as "commercialized child sexual abuse" rather than prostitution, sex work or 'sex for favors'. In summary, I suggest that reporting about the lives of children, and young people use terms which accurately and sensitively describe their lives or even reflect what they might say about themselves,

4. Concluding comments

The issues surrounding the commercialization of child sexual abuse, sex for favors, young people who work in the sex industry and the forced trafficking in children and youth across state and national lines present us with a plethora of health and legal concerns. We may wish to discuss strategies which can help all these categories of children and youth including the different needs of boys and girls, homeless youth as opposed to young people who still live at home, and very young children as opposed to young реэр1е over 15 or 16 years. One successful strategy in my experience has been bringing together youth workers and agencies with diverse perspectives.

Bibliography

"A Modern Form of Slaverу: Trafficking of Burmese Women and Girls into Brothels m Thailand." Asia Watch, HRW, 1993.

Beyer, D, 1996, "Child prostitution in Latin America." In Forced Labor: The Prostitution of Children, Papers from a symposium co-sponsored by US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Affairs, the Women's Bureau, and the US Dept of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Sept 29, 1995, DC. Black, M, 1995, In the Twilight Zone: Child Workers in the Hotel, Tourism and Catering Industry, Geneva, ILO

Caceres, C. and Jiminez, 0., "The Flete experience in Parque Kennedy: Sexual cultures among young men who sell sex to other men in Lima," (chapter to be published in Aggleton, P, Men Who Sell Sex - International Perspectives on Male Prostitution and AIDS. London: UCL Press).

ECPAT-Australia, 1997, Youth For Sale, ECPAT-Ausiralia.

Harris, B, "All they have left to sell is themselves: Sexual Exploitation of Children Increasing Worldwide," 20 August 1996 (Internet news article).

Interpol, 1996, "The International Law Enforcement Response Against Child Sexual Exploitation." In Forced Labor: The Prostitution of Children, Papers from a symposium co-sponsored by US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Affairs, the Women's Bureau, and the US Depi of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, September 29, 1995, DC.

Montgomery, H, 1988, "Children, prostitution and identity: A case study from a tourist resort in Thailand." In Global Sex Workers edited by K. Kempadoo and J. Doczema, Routledge, New York: 139-150.

Resources, documents and follow-up information

Aggleton, P.J. Men Who Sell Sex - International Perspectives on Male Prostitution and AIDS. London: UCL Press. (Simultaneously Philadelphia: Temple University Press).

"A Modem Form of Slavery: Trafficking of Burmese Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand," Asia Watch, HRW. 1993.

Black, M, In the Twighlight Zone: Child Workers in the Hotel, Tourism and Catering Industries, Geneva, ILO. 1996.

Conceptual Clarity on Trafficking. Proceedings of the workshop organised by the