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What is Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)?
The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) comprises of sexual abuse by adults and payment in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons and is a fundamental violation of children’s rights.
Commercial sexual exploitation is a contemporary form of slavery of children and
consists of practices that are demeaning, degrading and many times life-
CSEC is expressed through multiple forms of prostitution and pornography as well as the sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
According to a 2001 University of Pennsylvania study, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 adolescents are sexually exploited annually in the U.S. Hard data for New York City is scarce, a failing that is indicative both of public interest on the issue and the difficulties of capturing statistics of an underground and transient population. National research does however indicate a clear correlation between factors such as poverty, lack of education, abusive backgrounds and recruitment into prostitution.
Statistics show that as many as 90% of prostituted youth have been sexually or physically
abused and many have run away from home to escape such abuse only to encounter far
worse on the streets. There are also many societal factors which exacerbate the issue,
including racism, sexism and classism. In New York City, low-
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Resources
Click on each state to view a list of services available for young girls and women affected by commercial sexual exploitation.
If you are a family member, survivor, victim, or concerned about how commercial sexual exploitation affects young girls and women, there are a number of resources that are available. If you are in need of immediate assistance you can contact any of the following national hotlines where someone will be available to talk to you 24 hours a day.
National Hotlines
National Trafficking Hotline: 1-
National Runaway Switchboard: 1-
Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): 1-
National Trafficking Hotline: 1-
1-
Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC):
1-
Empirical Studies
Estes, J. & Weiner, N.A. (2001). The Commercial Sexual Exploitaion of Children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Executive Sumnary (Of the U.S. National Study). Philadelphia, PA
Westat. (2007). New York Prevalence Study of Commercially Sexually Exploited Children. New York: Gregg, Petta, Bernstein, Eisen & Quinn.
Web Resources
GEMS has not used the services of all service providers listed and therefore cannot be held responsible for services rendered