Exploitation on OUR sidewalks

08.16.2010

Last week I was at a busy intersection in Atlanta. On the sidewalk, I noticed that there were two teenage girls, probably no more than 14 years old, barefoot in bikinis jumping up and down to drum up business for their car wash. The car wash was being held at a local tire and rim shop and the people actually washing the cars was a group of men. My first thought was, how dare those grown men exploit these young women like this for cash. Don't they know how many people drive through here that don't need to see these girls in bikinis?

As I got closer I noticed something. The girls were smiling ear to ear, as happy as two teenagers could possibly be on a summer day in the city. And that's when it struck me. These girls actually want to be doing this. It meant attention, a distorted sense of power, and they might have actually thought that this was their choice.

You see, that's how sexual exploitation starts. The adult lures the young person with attention, security, false promises, and "love." The teen is led to believe that they are being taken care of and that their best interest is at stake. They often don't foresee the danger to come.

Did you know that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12 years old? That 80-90 percent of prostitution victims have been sexually abused? That every year more than 300,000 children become victims of sexual exploitation within the United States? These alarming statistics are from a chilling clip I came across about sexual exploitation of children. I encourage everyone to watch it and pass it along.