prostitution8

OTTAWA — Megan Lewis turned her first trick when she was 13 and worked in a brothel
with other girls as young as 11. They sold their bodies in the back of a knick-knack shop in
Vancouver's Gastown tourist district. Lewis felt she was making big bucks when she
finished a night's work with $30 in her pocket.
For 11 years she was physically and sexually abused. But she couldn't turn her back on
the life she had grown used to — until she was violently raped.
"I went through about two weeks where I was bathing every hour on the hour, I was
brushing my teeth every 10 minutes or so," she says. "And for a month afterward, I couldn't
let anyone come near me. If someone came up from behind me, I'd scream. I'd wake up in
the middle of the night screaming."
The constant fear of death made her quit prostitution and re-unite with her family. That was
four years ago.
Her story reveals a glimpse into a global problem — the sexual exploitation of children.
Although Lewis considers herself lucky that her family welcomed her back and helped her
get her life sorted out, she knows there are many other young men and women out there
that won't escape.
Woldwide, more than a million children are believed to enter the sex market each year,
according to estimates by the international lobby group End Child Prostitution in Asian
Tourism. Tracking the number of child prostitutes in Canada is difficult. Those who study
the problem like to point out how many children run away from home each year. Missing
Children, a branch of the RCMP which assists law enforcement agencies from all over the
world with missing children cases, reported that 45,527 Canadian children ran away last
year.
Although not all children who run away live in the streets, those who do are far more likely
to turn to prostitution. Some are coerced, kidnapped, sold, deceived or otherwise trafficked
into sexual slavery. Some come from educated, middle to upper-class families where they
take to the streets out of rebellion or as away to escape sexual or physical abuse. And
many know no other way of life — they were born into a life on the streets with mothers and
sisters also selling their bodies.
But to all these children, there is one common denominator - prostitution is one way to earn
a quick buck.
"They are involved with prostitution and stay with selling sex for survival purposes," says
John Lowman a professor at Simon Fraser University who has studied prostitution for more
than 20 years. "They leave home at an early age and have no skills. That's why they are
out there."
He says that most who start street prostitution are under 18 with the average age between
15 to 16. Canada's Criminal Code makes it clear that it's illegal to ask to pay for sex with
anyone under 18.
Last May, the federal government changed the Criminal Code to toughen the penalty for
those who use child prostitutes by introducing a mandatory five-year sentence for pimps.
Previously, they would be charged and sent to prison anywhere between six months up to
five years.
When faced with jail sentences, johns will be more careful to not seek sex with children and
pimps won't take on children as business prospects. Lucie Angers, a lawyer for the federal
Justice Department, says the changes send a very strong message because of the nature
of the law. She also points out that there are very few instances in the Criminal Code
outlining a mandatory minimum term.
But the changes weren't tough enough for the new Justice Minister Anne McLellan. The
minister says she wants to fine-tune the wording in the Criminal Code to make the law
easier to enforce. Government policy makers say the change will make it easier for police
to obtain evidence and arrest johns who seek sex from child prostitutes. Under the new
amendments, that have yet to be introduced in Parliament, police will be able to dress up
as child prostitutes and capture offenders who actively seek child prostitutes.
Pierre Gratton, the spokesman for the Justice Minister says changing the Criminal Code is
only part of the solution. Provinces must also devise ways to prevent it in the first place. "It
would be a mistake to view the Criminal Code as the only way to deal with child prostitution.
The first problem is to get the kids off the street."
The Alberta government, for one, proposed legislation in January to give police the power
to take child prostitutes into a safe house for up to 72 hours while they undergo an
assessment by the Child Welfare Department. The legislation will also provide penalities of
$25,000 or two years in jail for johns and pimps involved in child prostitution.
Edmonton police say tough measures work. Ten years ago, half of the city's prostitutes
were under 18. But after more co-operation between the police, courts and various
agencies, fewer than 50 of the estimated 400 prostitutes are youths.
New legislation may be necessary but Lewis says policy makers should consult the children
who are affected by laws. That's why Lewis helped organize a conference talking to those
who've had first-hand experience. To gather information, Lewis and another ex-prostitute
visited the major cities in Canada to hear stories from children on the streets, in the
massage parlours, cheap hotels and the needle exchanges. A similar search was held in
the the other nations. Those willing were invited to the conference to suggest how policy-
makers and police can stop child prostitution and how children can escape safely.