Children and survival sex: A social work agenda

Abstract

PAGE 14 AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK ISSUE 26(4), 2014 Children and survival sex: A social work agenda Natalie Thorburn and Irene de Haan Natalie Thorburn is a social worker working in the sexual violence sector and is currently studying towards her Masters in social work, focusing on child involvement in transactional sexual activity. Dr Irene de Haan is a lecturer with the School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work at the University of Auckland. Her research interests include prevention of child maltreatment and family violence and she chairs regional Family Violence Death Review Panels. Abstract The purchasing of sexual services by adults from children and adolescents affects an un- known proportion of New Zealand youth, and is present in both rural and urban settings. International research shows that on average girls begin using sex for survival between the ages of 12 and 15. It can be argued that the terms used to denote adolescent transactional sex indicate the researchers’ moral position of the subject; the terms ‘prostitution’ and ‘client’ suggesting equal bargaining power and the terms ‘criminality’ and ‘delinquency’ implying victim responsibility. Recent articles are consistent in their comparison of transactional sex to child sexual abuse. Patriarchal ideals relating to gender roles and female sexuality may perpetuate the selling of sexual services by young people. Three primary pathways into survival sex have been identified: through intermediaries, through child sexual abuse and through inadequate protective systems. Children and young people engaged in transactional sex experience a range of adverse effects related to physical, sexual and mental health, and relationships. In New Zealand the use of children under 18 for sexual services is explicitly prohibited, but there are no comprehensive, nation-wide services for victims of transaction- al sex. Recommendations from the literature support a multi-systemic approach, with an extension of street outreach services, welfare provision and targeted prevention strategies.