Homeless Youth and Survival Sex

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: sexual exploitation, violence, youth

Published November 01, 2009 @ 06:27PM PT

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It's a sad but ugly truth: roughly one in four homeless youth engages in survival sex. A new research brief out this week from the National Alliance to End Homelessness paints a scary picture of the harsh realities faced by homeless runaway youth. Whatever you do, do not just read these numbers and shake your head. Let this be a call to action, the start of a grassroots movement to help these victimized homeless youth get the help they desperately need.

Here are a few of the most compelling (terrible) points that caught my eye from the research brief:

• 40-60 percent of homeless youth have experienced physical abuse and 17-35 percent have experienced sexual abuse. These young people are much more vulnerable to survival sex, prostitution, and sexual exploitation.
• Homeless girls face a significantly greater risk of being raped or assaulted than homeless boys.
• Sexually exploited youth rarely report their situation or ask for help.
• LGBTQ homeless youth experience are at a greater risk of sexual exploitation than non-LGBTQ homeless youth.
• Long-term psychological effects from sexual exploitation are more likely the longer a youth remains on the street following an assault.
• Sexual exploitation of homeless youth is not a city or coastal issue - research shows it is just as common in rural and Midwestern communities.
• One study noted that of the youth engaging in survival sex, 48 percent reported exchanging sex for housing or food, 22 percent traded sex for drugs, and 82 percent traded sex for money.

If these numbers don't trouble you, then maybe this will: the research brief concludes by pointing to the complete lack of community-based resources for victimized homeless runaway youth. In other words, their plight is largely unknown by most of America and there are few specialized services to help them.

But here's the good news: you can take action to stop this type of activity in your community. Here are a few things you can do (straight from the report):

1. Learn about youth homelessness in your community. Find out how many homeless youth are enrolled in the public schools and what kinds of resources are available to help them. Be informed about the realities of your community.
2. Be a vocal advocate for increased housing resources. Youth are less likely to be exploited when they are off the streets and in stable housing. There are model youth housing programs that can be developed in rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods. Is there enough affordable housing in your neighborhood for older teenagers and young adults who are fleeing abuse and neglect?
3. Make sure that local law enforcement is targeting the businesses (pimps, strip clubs, escort services) and customers (johns) of the commercial sexual industry and not the victims (youth and young adults) for prosecution.

Learn more here.

Youth homelessness should not be a reality. But the sexual exploitation of runaway homeless youth is flat out unacceptable.