Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is the practice of engaging or being forced to engage in sexual activity in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. It is sometimes referred to as prostitution or “sex work”.
Research demonstrates that commercial sex is intimately linked to trafficking. Millions across the globe are regularly sold or manipulated into the commercial sex industry where they are used in various forms of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) such as prostitution, pornography, nude dancing or other forms of sexual abuse. Conservative estimates indicate that the annual global profits from CSE come to more than US $33.9 billion.
Focus on Cambodia...
Demographic data on those who are prostituted in Cambodia is often based on surveys conducted in selected areas. Comparing numbers is difficult because of the differences in the kind of prostituted persons counted, and because of the hidden nature of the commercial sex industry. One study estimates that the lowest statistics for the number of prostituted persons in Cambodia is between 40,000 and 50,000, and the highest is 100,000. According to this study, 30-35% of those in brothels are sexually exploited minors. There is differing speculation as to why women enter prostitution.
Exploitation perpetrated by Cambodian nationals accounts for a far greater percentage of abuse in Cambodia than that perpetrated by foreigners.
Focus on the United States...
An estimated 200,000 American children are at a high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year. It is reported that one out of every three teenagers on the streets will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. This does not include the tens of thousands who are believed to be trafficked into U.S. borders from other nations.
International law stipulates that any sexually exploited child under the age of 18 is to be considered a trafficking victim, regardless of whether force or coercion is present.
