Survey Reveals Extent of Teen Prostitution
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About 650,000 American teenagers have exchanged sex for money or drugs, and boys were more likely to have prostituted themselves than girls, according to the only survey ever committed to the subject. According to the survey, published Wednesday in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections, close to 4 percent of more than 13,000 U.S. teens in grades seven through 12 reported having ever exchanged sex for drugs or money. While it’s long been known that teens who are homeless or drug abusers are at an increased risk of prostituting themselves, it has not been known just how many teens in the general population behave similarly. The survey found that boys were far more likely than girls to have participated in prostitution. “Although 3.5 percent is a small percentage, it translates into a sizable number of youths, about 650,000,” said lead researcher Jessica Edwards, at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Chapel Hill, N.C. “And given that sex exchange is associated with so many risk behaviors, it’s a very important issue to study.” More : abcnews.go.com |