Survival sex is a form of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

engaged in by a person because of their extreme need. It describes the practice of people who are

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

or otherwise disadvantaged in society, trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other

basic needs The basic needs approach is one of the major approaches to the measurement of absolute poverty in developing countries globally. It works to define the absolute minimum resources necessary for long-term physical well-being, usually in terms of ...

, or for

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

. The term is used by

sex trade The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse

researchers, and

aid workers Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

Prevalence

Survival sex is common throughout the world, and has been extensively studied in many countries including

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. Researchers estimate that of

homeless youth Youth homelessness is the problem of homelessness of young people around the globe. Overview Youth homelessness is a significant social issue globally, both in developing countries and many developed countries. In developing countries, resear ...

in North America, one in three has engaged in survival sex. In one study of homeless youth in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, about one-third of females and half of males said they had engaged in survival sex. Likelihood increases with the number of days the youth has been homeless, experience of being victimized, engaging in criminal behaviour, using illegal substances, attempting suicide, being pregnant, or having an STI. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender street children are three times likelier to engage in survival sex compared with their heterosexual counterparts, according to one study. Another found that

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

youth are most likely of all to engage in survival sex. Survival sex is common in refugee camps. In

internally displaced persons An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...

camps in northern

, where 1.4 million civilians have been displaced by conflict between Ugandan government forces and the militant

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

reported in 2005 that displaced women and girls were engaging in survival sex with other camp residents, local defense personnel, and Ugandan government soldiers.

Motivations

Some researchers say that street children do not always see survival sex as exploitative: rather, they sometimes characterize it as the "beginning of a potential relationship." Given that one of the strongest predictors of engagement in survival sex is a prior history of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by adult caregivers, some researchers theorize that rather than being driven to survival sex out of desperation, street children might be reproducing familiar behaviour and relationship patterns.

Outreach and law enforcement

US municipalities such as

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

have noticed a sharp increase in runaways engaging in survival sex since 1999. Dallas established a special group home for counseling, from which 75% of the underage girls who receive treatment do not return to prostitution. Congress nearly approved a program for cities to create pilot programs modeled on the Dallas system in 2007, but never appropriated the necessary funds. The Department of Justice has yet to study the number of children involved in prostitution even though they were authorized by Congress to do so in 2005. However, the Center for Problem Oriented Policing claims, "there is no consensus on whether the practice is widespread," and recommends that runaways should be questioned about sexual abuse but not consensual sex, survival sex, or prostitution. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, outreach services to help sexually exploited youth should focus on the locations where they congregate and are approached by pimps for exploitation, including public spaces such as malls and schools, and the internet. Outreach workers need to develop a close professional relationship with law enforcement to learn about trends and locations, but should carefully avoid compromising their independence or the confidentiality of their clients. Local law enforcement should target pimps and customers (janes or johns) and not the victims (youth and young adult prostitutes) for prosecution to be effective. Partnerships between nonprofit programs and law enforcement can help offer survival sex worker victims community-based services and housing when they are picked up by police officers. According to

ECPAT International ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the se ...

, when sex industry women and children victims are held in police custody or remand homes, denied freedom and access to information, or abused by police, they are encouraged to lie about their situation and try to escape, so community assistance services are substantially less useful. Similar failures occur when court procedures do not allow victim testimony or representation or, when they do, are neither victim-friendly nor children-friendly; or when decisions on children's futures seldom include the opinions of children, or when the right to privacy is violated by media reporting, or by stigmatization of and discrimination against children exploited in prostitution. Governments have the duty to provide services to children, but sharing that duty with nonprofits by coordination, monitoring, and support, especially with respect to periodic review of placement, is likely to have the best results. Protection measures for children at all stages of the legal process has not been sufficiently implemented through children-friendly courts, justice systems and law enforcement agencies. Decriminalization of children exploited in prostitution is a substantial gap in addressing survival sex worldwide. Successful law enforcement partnerships have included a campaign of brothel-based prostitutes who policed the recruitment of under-age girls in Bangladesh.Ennew, J. (November 2008
"Exploitation of children in prostitution"
''World Congress III Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents'' (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

ECPAT ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the se ...

International)

References

External links

''"Survival Sex" - Bodies for Sale''
seven video series (VJ Movement, 2007–2011) * Rillos, L. (February 9, 2010
"'Survival sex' lures homeless teens into prostitution"
'' KVAL News'' (Eugene, Oregon) video and text {{Deprivation Indicators Homelessness Prostitution

Prevalence

Motivations

Outreach and law enforcement

See also

References

Further reading

External links