Children in the sex trade - and, in particular, as their involvement as prostitutes - is something that we don't hear about often. Newspapers, television, and radio stop it from coming on centre stage for one reason - because it makes people uncomfortable. And why wouldn't it? Just the mere suggestion of such things existing and happening will make most people reel in disgust. And the media, with their postage-stamp sized coverage and off-hand comments in the evening news, is not helping the situation. However, whatever way you look at it, the exploitation of children in the international sex trade is harmful to both the prostitutes and the "customers" of this trade, as well as affecting society as a whole.
             One of the most common misconceptions about commercial child sex abuse is that it doesn't happen here. Umm, nope, sorry. As much as we'd like it not to be true, children selling sex has been an ongoing problem on North American shores, and it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon. Numerous documented examples exist in every state and province, and estimations indicate that the number of victims in the United States alone amount from 300,000 to 400,000. This is not something we can ignore - it is, in the words of University of Pennsylvania professor of social work, "an epidemic".
             Once a girl places her foot into the field of prostitution, it is very difficult to pull herself back onto the shore. In addition to the fact that she may suffer severely, other innocent girls can be poisoned as well. Many of the child prostitutes will consider this as having a part-time job which is definitely their personal businesses and responsibilities - other words, "None of your business." From our point of view, this makes little sense. They have the chance being contracting STDs including AIDS as well as the risk of pregnancy, too. Both of their physical and mental growth are affecte...