To think child sex abuse victims shouldn’t be called prostitutes

[Notevilstepmother]

Following on from the Haiti Oxfam debacle. The BBC has reported that the use of child prostitutes cannot be ruled out.

I think it’s important to distinguish between consent for money (still dubious and creepy in such a situation with vulnerable women) and children being unable to consent. Children are not prostitutes they are child sex abuse victims and should be respected and reported as such.

I’ve complained to the BBC, feel free to do the same.

@ fitton

Yes absolutely... It has different connotations and there is an element of choice in prostitute, sex workers as opposed to trafficked women abused as sex slaves etc.

Nancy should be the leading light on this, after Saville they should have shit hot people making sure this gets reported properly.

OP i'm not sure about this. When I hear the phrase 'Child prostitute', The full horror of whats happening to the child hits you in the stomach. That this isn't just a one off attack, but that the child has been paid for to be abused, raped and used multiple times.
When I switch that with the term 'child abuse victim', i think of a child who has been unlucky to have been sexually abused and it could be a one off (one too many).

In my mind 'child abuse victim' sort of lessons the crime, child prosititute really brings home the full extent of the abuse.

Please don't think, I'm imagining a victim of sexual abuse is not a biug deal! not at all, but 'prostitute' seems to fit better. We are not saying children should be prostitutes, of course not, but that is why when you combe, 'child' and 'prostitute' it really shines light on how the extent of the depravity of it.

Hope someone else might be able to explain better. I think 'child porn', is exactly the same.

The people that think 'child prostitution' evokes more empathy because of the perceived repeated nature of the crime, what about 'trafficked children'? I think the nature of the abuse isn't summed up with 'prostitution' or 'sex work'. We know trafficking is brutal and criminal.

And frankly, exchanging money for consent where the women (the adults, I'm talking about now) may starve, not be able to feed their children, house themselves or similar is abuse. If these reprehensible arseholes were exchanging basic food rations for sex we would see it. I have no idea how money cleans the whole process up. They were aid workers, they knew what they were doing.

TheButterfly - I don't think its about 'evoking empathy'. Both are abhorrent. for me its about having a full understanding of the extent to which this child/children have been abused. 'Child sex abuse victim' doesn't quite sum it up.

I don't quite understand your analogy with 'trafficked children'. Trafficked children to me means children abducted from one place and sold on to another?

OrphanWeek

That's how I feel. I don't think it he word 'prostitute' conveys agency, and 'child prostitute' never could. To me the term is more informative than the alternatives.

" If these reprehensible arseholes were exchanging basic food rations for sex we would see it."

I think I saw a tweet or something on fb along lines of

'When seeking to help a desperate woman in Haiti you fill her mouth with food - not a cock' which I thought summed it up well

I do get what you're saying, @TheButterflyOfTheStorms I was expressing the way I personally felt about it, but what you're saying does make sense.

I think the issue is that there is a prejudice against prostitutes in general. It's not just children that are victims. Women are often trafficked into prostitution or they are faced with no other choices in order to survive. The reaction of the police and SS in places like Rochdale speaks volumes about their attitude towards women and girls trapped in prostitution/sexual exploitation, that they somehow 'deserve it'.

The splendid Ann Coffey MP has been campaigning to end the use of this term.

They are prostituted children, not child prostitutes.

That's so true, @Mumsnut

Couldn't agree more OP! Child porn and child prostitute terminology offers validation and an implication of consent. It absolutely should be referred to as what it is - images of children being sexually abused and child sexual exploitation. The media should be shifting their language and we should all challenge those who fall into the trap of these damaging terms

I agree with that Mumsnut. Kind of reminds me of when the NHS switched from Looked After Children (LAC) to Children Looked After (CLA).

If you think child porn or child prostitute implies consent, then it is you that has the problem

You raise a great point @Notevilstepmother, can’t believe I’d never picked up on it before, YADNBU

Westrid -
In what world does the term 'Child porn' and 'child prostitute' imply consent? . The clue is in the word, 'child'.

airiwa - did you read everything I wrote or just two words?

Notevilstepmother I absolutely agree.

Does anyone have an issue with the term 'prostituted children'?

Sorry pressed post too soon. Or are you agreeing with me? I'm afraid I can't tell

Pengggywn - I don't. I think it captures what we're trying to say succinctly and will try to remember to use it from now on.

Penggwyn - I do! The word prostitute has no place in the discussion. Although uk law uses the term which is very disappointing

Did you read my name?

Seriously. Who the fuck thinks child porn implies consent?

westridingpauperlunaticasylum

But are 'prostitute' and 'prostituted' the same word? Even if you accept (which I don't) that 'prostitute' implies consent, 'prostituted' certainly doesn't. So what can the problem be with the word in this context? Simply to say a word has no place in the discussion doesn't explain your thinking.

Can someone clarify how old the girls/women involved were?

I agree OP. To many people prostitution still implies the happy hooker, high class escort image, and that can even filter down to teenage girls, ok probably not very small children, but definitely teenagers.
If they must use the word prostitute to indicate that money is involved then why not use 'prostituted children'.

araiwa some people will. There are many people who are invested in blurring the definitions between children and adult, exploitation and free consent. Just because we are mostly clear on this issue on mumsnet doesn't mean that everyone is.
Child porn = images of children being sexually abused.
Child prostitution = children being sexually abused as part of a financial transaction, of which they themselves may not receive any financial reward.