Close window
Angela (name changed), 15, looks at pictures she drew in her notebook while living in a shelter for sexually exploited children in a major city in Colombia.
According to the local police, such children are corrupted by their experience and often return to prostitution.
• This may be this police officer's view, but it cannot be reported without comment. If children return to prostitution, it is because they lack other options. Again, if we heard from the children themselves we might learn more!
• Words such as 'corrupted' stigmatize children — that is, mark them as disgraced. But no blame or disgrace should ever be attached to an exploited child. Sexually exploited children, like all children, should be treated with dignity and respect — and given the support they need to live a normal life.