She thinks “to manage” her life, between easy money and nights out, but collapses under the blows of her boyfriend who forces her to sell herself: through a shock video about a drifting teenager, the government is launching a communication campaign on Monday on the dangers of underage prostitution.
“It’s good, I manage”hammers the heroine of this clip, when her pimp reminds her that she has “another meeting at 5 p.m.”. But the pimp, barely older than her, insults her and hits her when she doesn’t bring in enough money. The video, punctuated by electro music, must be aired on TV, video platforms and social media. The campaign, the first of its kind on the issue, is aimed at teenagers, but also at parents and professionals in contact with young people. “We are here to help you, call 119”helpline for children in danger, concludes the spot.
A scourge that has exploded in its last years
Some 7,000 to 10,000 miners – mostly girls – engage in prostitution, according to estimates put forward by the voluntary sector. “It remains very approximate and probably below reality”, recognizes the government. This plague “recently emerging” at “exploded” in recent years, especially with social networks that facilitate contact with customers, the Secretary of State for Children and Families, Adrien Taquet, told AFP, who presented a plan in November 14 million euros to combat the phenomenon.
“We are far from the cliché of young Nigerian women brought to the streets by international networks, even if that also exists”added Mr. Taquet, pointing out that “kids are doing blowjobs in the college toilets for 10 euros, and they don’t see where the problem is!” In addition to this campaign, “there is obviously a lot of work to be done to raise awareness among young people at school and to train professionals, in police stations or child welfare centres”insists Mr. Taquet.
According to research carried out over a year by a sociologist, a doctor and a psychologist, the results of which were published on Monday, child prostitution concerns “all social classes”.
The victims often “weakened by previous traumatic events”, almost systematically report being subjected to violence from their pimp. As for the parents, who oscillate between “guilt, anger, incomprehension and helplessness”they often do not know who to contact. According to Mr. Taquet, a call for projects has been launched to create a “territorial network” associations likely to come to their aid.