Concern over child prostitution

breakfast news comment
Concern over child prostitution
A crackdown on child prostitution by Auckland police - which resulted in girls as young as 13 being removed from the streets and 25 arrests - has put the spotlight on a hidden nationwide problem, according to child advocates.
The head of the Counties Manukau child abuse team, Sergeant Dave Pizzini, said 16 young people were removed from the streets during an undercover operation, and either returned to their families or placed in the care of Child, Youth and Family.

I hosted a TV show called ‘Stake Out’ a couple of years ago where we busted clients trying to buy sex from underage children in the exact same place, the fundamental problem is men wanting to sleep with children, and that 50% these children, according to research, are being sexually abused at home – the Police pick the kids up and deliver them home, in half of those cases the girl is being sexually abused at home so are on the street through necessity and economic intendance. There is no shelter, no outreach program, nothing for these girls to be able to get out of their situation, they are effectively trapped into using their bodies as sexual commodity, and the fact that our under funded CYFs can barely look after the damaged children they have leaves me with little hope that all this will be is a headline with no real change pending.