ISSN 1363-8394<=
/i>
Journal of Adolescent =
Health
and Welfare
Vo=
lume
11 - No 3 - Autumn 1998
Incorporating
the Newsletter of the International Regional Chapter of the Society for
Adolescent Medicine=
Letter from the editor -
Dear Colleagues,
This is the last edition before the 1998 conf=
erence
so make sure you are signed up - we would not want you to miss it!
In this edition we include the presentations =
from
the March 1998 SAM (Society for Adolescent Medicine) International Chapter
meeting held in
May I remind you that the 1996 conference
presentations are published separately as a book of ‘proceedings̵=
7; -
they are selling very well and made up quite a nice textbook of adolescence=
-
so please write in and ask for a copy - price a very reasonable £5.
&=
nbsp; Di=
ana
Birch
&=
nbsp; Di=
rector
Youth Support
* CONFERENCE ROUND UP *
Personal views of those
attending recent conferences -
=
The
Question of Abortion -
A meeting on the subject of abortio=
n is
predictably going to raise strong feelings in participants and audience and
this was no exception. Professor Drife put forw=
ard a
balanced personal view of abortion practices and his own involvement in
providing a service in
Paul Tully took the opposite stance=
and
was firmly anti abortion taking the usual SPUC prejudiced viewpoint and
predictably bringing out strongly emotive, judjemental=
and condemning stance towards abortion patients and professionals alike -
talking of ‘murdered babies’ and ‘sinners’. It is
difficult to relate any of his speech or discuss the content without becomi=
ng
angry and subjective myself.
To try to get away from these usual
lines of argument
=
The Question of Abortion
=
Is it a MORAL &n=
bsp; RELIGIOUS ETHICAL <=
/span> =
MEDICAL LEGAL=
&=
nbsp; EXISTENTIAL We have heard arguments along each =
of
these lines numerous times. There are arguments re - foetal / maternal conflict; foetal rights - and there have even
been published papers raising the subject of foetal confidentiality - wheth=
er
the foetus has a right to confidentiality in respect of blood test results
performed in utero which perhaps the parents sh=
ould
not know about - in my mind this
represents the height of the ridiculous! Are people legally or morally ̵=
6;entitled’ to abortion or to=
choice. Do people ‘own’ their own bodies and therefore do they have the righ=
t to
do what they want to their bodies - (parallel scenarios exist in relation to
drugs self harm etc) So is the foetus part of your own body and if not when does it stop being part =
of
mother and become a new being - introducing the concept of self or ‘personh=
ood.’
In considering the question of abortion and the ethics involved there are a=
lso
‘Fudging’ issues s=
uch as
timing - 1st trimester (the earlier the more OK it seems) reasons - OK? Rape maternal illness =
not so OK? Girls age not OK
single financial limit number children =
Service
issues - include access to services and availability - the control of access to services can=
be a
subtle way of effecting an imposition of others ideas by limitation of acce=
ss.
There are always conflicts between the issues of conscientious objectors ve=
rsus
the concept of duty to provide best possible care. One could tackle the question of
abortion from an academic view=
point
or from moralistic preaching o=
f my
personal views. One could also become tied up in statistics and papers -
opinions and figures. This is a fertile ground for dogma and people taking a
‘stance’ a pose which can nearly always be backed up by product=
ion
of some statistics and rates - But
how does this relate to PEOPLE =
to REAL PEOPLE - what we would call case histories, although the term
itself belies their individual nature as feeling, hurting people. When I was a medical student I spent
time at Coppetts Wood infectious diseases hospi=
tal
where we had a whole ward devoted to the treatment of septic abortion with
it’s own separate operating theatre - a whole ward full of dying women
with greenish grey faces, all on antibiotic drips. This was pre 1967 aborti=
on
act - they had illegal abortions. Later when I went back there as a young
doctor in 1970 - after the abortion act - the ward was closed. SPUC talks of deaths and murder - but how about the deaths of=
those
suffering women? Looking at Young People - Decisions are hard, it can be agonising to choose
abortion but sometimes it is the right choice. But who makes the decisions?
Sometimes there are conflicts within the family or with a boyfriend and it =
can
be equally disastrous for a young girl to have an abortion against her own =
will
or to be denied one because of other’s views and feelings. Timing is also an important facto=
r.
Girls conceal or deny pregnancy through fear of the consequences or to prot=
ect
their boyfriends with the result that often those whose need for terminatio=
n is
greatest are denied or are too late for an abortion or have the most danger=
ous
(later) procedures. Decision =
making
is complex and depends on the emotional and psychological development of the
girl - an example of two sisters illustrates this. Carol and Susan became pregnant in similar
circumstances but Carol had dropped out of school and had no prospects for a
bright future - she became a schoolgirl mother at 15. Susan had done well in
exams, was the bright hope of the family - they had invested a lot in her
future and she was promised a good career - a baby at 15 was not in
anyone’s plans and so she bravely waited until her 16th
birthday and then came for abortion counselling. Her decision was not easy =
but
it was the right one for her - she was looking at her future - but in order=
to
do so you need to have a sense of future which some young people have not y=
et
acquired, and you also need a future worth investing in. What is the Motivation behind the abortion question? Most if not all of fac=
tors
involved in the decision making process surrounding the abortion debate hav=
e in
fact nothing to do with the foetus or developing child. Arguments purporting to consider t=
he
welfare of the foetus are in effect merely used emotively as justification of a position and a=
s a displacement of true feelings and
motivations. If in fact one truly cared about the
foetus - would one not look at the quality
of life for the child of an un=
wanted
pregnancy - apart from the obvious cases of children with a congenital defe=
ct -
apparently ‘normal’ children born of an unwanted pregnancy have
been reported to suffer from a catalogue of difficulties such as ill health=
and
are more likely to suffer non accidental injury. For example a girl who kept her baby
‘for her boyfriend’ watched as he held the four week child unde=
r a
hot tap causing severe scalds.
Having babies is not all happiness and fun ..
Dora was depressed throughout pregnancy, hinted she would like an abortion =
but
could not bring herself to discuss it - her baby was the result of incest w=
ith
her father. Another girl was forced by her pastor to keep her child conceiv=
ed
through sexual abuse by a neighbour. SPUC talks of ‘violence against =
the
innocent’ is this not violence against the innocent? These girls are =
further
abused by being forced to carry their babies to term and give birth to unwa=
nted
children. Unwanted children are also more lik=
ely
to suffer increased socio-economic difficulty; have less Education and less
stable marriages
(parents and child) - they are subject to rejection and many =
end
up in the care system. Our answers to the abortion question
are dependant on how we perceive the child?
What do we attribute to the foetus? Invest in the foetus. This is based=
on
our own ‘inner world’ - Looking at the concept of inner child,
inner adult and inner parent - =
P moral, prejudice=
s A practical, knowl=
edge
facts=
=
C emotional - prim=
itive
magical a=
young
abused rejected girl will identify with and see the foetus as an
‘internal object ... inner self .. inner c=
hild. Such
over-identification will result in a feeling of - if I was rejected - how c=
an I
now reject ‘myself’ the foetus is seen as part of herself - she
cannot therefore make a decision to terminate her pregnancy even if logical=
ly
this is the best course of action for her. For all of us to an extent, there i=
s a
similar mechanism - the developing foetus is felt as part of ourselves -
leading to the male feeling of rejection (of sperm ..
bible seed) .. get rid of my baby .. get rid of me.
This feeling can extend to the third party - for example professiona=
l or
anti abortion campaigner who may be identifying with the rejection and thus
bringing their own personal agenda into the argument. They are arguing for
themselves - not for the ‘foetus’. Symbolism - what does the child sta=
nd
for - part of me - inner child or
part of him ... bit he left behind leading to feelings like - ‘at lea=
st
I’ll have something when he’s gone’ the foetus becomes
‘something to keep hold of’ and ‘maybe he won’t leave =
me
now’. When others become emotional about
abortion they are bringing their own inner feelings and concepts into the
equation rather than seeking true answers to the question of abortion. These
feelings also encompass anger punishment and retribution with a need to con=
trol
- as in the mother who insisted her daughter carry her baby to term because=
she
herself was forced to do the same as a teenager ‘your bed, lie on
it!’. Jealousy and vindictiveness can surface when those who want a c=
hild
are faced with what they see as ‘someone getting rid of’ a baby=
-
thus verbal attacks on girls in gynaecology wards by women having infertili=
ty
treatment. So we have a situation where others
attempt to control and impose their own standards, ‘morals’ and
feelings on others - instead of exercising compassion and looking at each
individual remembering that ‘there but for grace of God go I’.<=
o:p> =
* * * &=
nbsp; * * =
=
NEWS -
NEWS ITEM - Study: Gay, bisexual teens more at =
risk
PRACTICAL ECONOMIC
SOCIO CULTURAL <=
/span>or
RACIAL (eugenic) issue?=
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Homosexual and bisexual high school students are more
likely to engage in risky sexual and drug-related activity than their
heterosexual peers, according to a study published Monday. They also are more likely to have
attempted suicide and four times more likely than their peers to have been
threatened with a weapon at school, according to the report by
The findings were based on a review of a 1995
"Previous studies support the notion that many gay, lesbian and bisexu=
al
youth engage in an array of individual behaviours that increase their risks=
for
a number of negative health outcomes, including suicide, depression, physic=
al
and verbal victimisation, substance abuse and HIV," the study said.
The study said teens who used cocaine, alcohol or marijuana or who had their
first sexual experiences before age 13 were more likely to be homosexual or
bisexual. The number of sexual partners - a risk factor for AIDS and other
diseases -- also was higher among homosexuals and bisexuals, the report sai=
d.
The same group was more than three times as likely to have attempted suicid=
e,
said the study published in the current issue of Paediatrics, which is the
journal of the
News of the International
Regional Chapter (IRC) of SAM
(Society for Adolescent Medicine)
Co Ch=
airs -
Diana Birch Gustavo Girard
Treasurer Aric Schi=
chor
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp;
=
Our
Chapter Institute at the 1998 SAM meeting (Society for Adoles=
cent
Medicine)
=
SAM 1999 - IRC Ins=
titute
“When is a f=
amily
dysfunctional? - A cross cultural view.”
The family provides the ‘stage’ upon which emotional development ta= kes place and sets the scene for future difficulties, personality problems, and patterns of low self worth, self harm and abuse. Our concept of ‘family’ has changed from the classical view of the nuclear fam= ily to a variety of models including extended family, single parent, adolescent parent - there is no single concept of ‘family’. On a mo= re cosmopolitan level - family structure varies cross culturally and we should perhaps also consider bands of street kids and runaways as developing their= own ‘family’ groups.
What family structures work for the individual and why? What is a dysfunctional family? How can we and when should we intervene? By working with families we hope to break cycles of dysfunctional patterns and enable children to grow = into happy effective adults and future parents themselves. This institute will explore the ab= ove issues on a cross cultural basis and attempt to draw common lessons from our joint experiences.<= o:p>
‘Exploitation of Youth - An
International Perspective’
Our Youth are our resource for the future - but =
are we
exploiting that resource? Across the world employers know that youth are a source of low waged labour, from teens working i=
n fast
food outlets to primary school children whose tiny hands can knot high qual=
ity
carpets. They often work in dangerous and abusive conditions. Adolescent
sexuality provides another rich area for exploitation - sexual tourism is on
the increase and young prostitutes of both sexes are a prime attraction.
Presentations will look at types of exploitation in differing cultures from=
the
SAM International Regional Chapter
Institute <=
/b>
The Exploitation of Youth
Exploitation of Youth - An overview and Introduction - <= o:p>
=
Diana
Birch - Youth Support
=
The
Exploitation of youth - how
do we define exploitation? In the extreme case, such as in a child or y=
outh
being used in pornography, the
definition is clear but there remain areas where the dividing line between
‘expectation’ of youth and exploitation is hazy and the ‘=
goal
posts’ tend to move depending on the perspective of the observer.
Examples abound in family life -
parents differ in their expectations of their children and especially of th=
eir
adolescent children. What one family considers to be a
reasonable degree of involvement in housework, child care or contribution to
the upkeep of the family home may by others be considered abusive or border=
ing
on slave labour - certainly that is how many young teens see housework and
family chores. We could use a
commonly applied definition of abuse to help us here in that an abusive
situation may interfere with the well-being of the young person physically, emotionally or
developmentally but we do nee=
d to
take note of cultural norms. Does being sent out to work hinder the normal
development? Yes -&nbs=
p;
if it stops you taking part in education - perhaps not so muc=
h if
good educational opportunities do not exist. Being made to stay at home to =
look
after younger siblings is an exploitation which deprives youth of school
attendance but when the family is poor and mother has to work to put food on
the table - which is the lesser evil?
=
Motivation
can also merge with exploitation - if parents push their
child to succeed academically and the parents aims and aspirations do not m=
atch
those of the young person then even a drive for success can be exploitative.
This is perhaps particularly noticeable in sport where the child or teenager
can be ‘doing it for mum or dad’. There is commonly parental ov=
er
investment in the activity and it’s result=
s so
that the parent is achieving their own ends in the process. There may be a
symbiotic attachment , a merging between parent =
and
offspring so that the youth is seen as an extension of the parent’s
‘self’ and they fail to see their son or daughter as an individ=
ual
with his or her own goals. Such intense ‘driving’ of young peop=
le
to succeed and compete can lead to a sense of failure - never quite good en=
ough
- low self worth and burn out.
Similar processes are seen wherever
there is an opportunity for adults to take vicarious pleasure from the
activities of children or youth - parents, teachers, coaches can all become
involved there are numerous examples in fashion - young models, the media,
beauty pageants , dance competitions …R=
30;
Any aspect of life where adults might want youth to do what they could not -
they succeed by proxy.
=
Attributes
of youth - Exploitation exists on any levels =
of
society - it is useful to consider what are the attribu=
tes
of youth and thus how are these attributes used by others? Youth, vitality, a need for indepe=
ndence
can be exploited in the labour market.&nbs=
p;
Youth have been traditionally a source of cheap labour, perhaps meni=
al
and unskilled, often illegal labour and thus labour which may i=
nclude
an element of danger and lack of attention to health and safety and labour =
laws
and rights. The use of child labour in British mines was the issue which
finally provoked the establishment of child protection legislation - althou=
gh
the animal protection laws were passed first!
Young people have commercial attrib=
utes
- they have money to spend , they are a buying p=
ower
to reckon with - hence exploited in the market place. ‘Must have R=
30;
trainers, clothes, make up etc..
Youth are also sexually
‘alive’ vital and perhaps seductive, they are aware of their bo=
dy
image and want to look good. They are thus ripe for exploitation in adverti=
sing
and by advertising. Sexual exploitation may be overt or covert and cover a =
wide
range of activities such as titillating magazine pictures, to a range of
pornography, paedophile activities, juvenile prostitution and sexual touris=
m.
=
=
Sexual
Exploitation - Looking more closely at the subject=
of
sexual exploitation - we are hampered by lack of accurate reporting,
insufficient data, manipulation and ‘doctoring’ of data when
presented by different bodies and a vast difference in quality and quantity=
of
case material derived from different sources.
In Britain the police statistics,
produced by the Home Office show us only the tip of the iceberg since
statistics are divided into ‘cautions’ - when police warn a sus=
pect
not to re-offend but do not prosecute - and prosecutions, where the case is
taken to court. Statistics wo=
uld
seem to indicate that certain offences are more likely to be dealt with by a
caution (young girls soliciting) and others by prosecution (e.g. indecent
photograph of child). {see graphs}
&nb=
sp; Graph
- prostitution under 16yrs
&nb=
sp; Graph
indecent photograph of child
The categorisation of crimes is oft=
en
misleading and we also have conflicts over the nature of the offence - for
example an abused and exploited girl who is forced into prostitution by an
older ‘pimp’ is technically an ‘offender’ whereas at
the same time she is also a ‘victim’ - there is confusion betwe=
en
victim and perpetrator. The o=
verall
numbers reported via police prosecutions belie the practical experience of
anyone working in the field who can be immediate=
ly
certain that the true figures are much, much higher.
The association - AAA Accuracy about
Abuse publish a regular newsletter which catalogues all media reports and i=
tems
from a variety of sources piecing together information about paedophilia and
related matters - {it can be reached via e mail on morr@aaastar.demon.co.uk=
}
Many of the case reports below are included in their data sheets.
=
Justification-Sexual
Exploitation of youth is a rich field for ‘justification’ of the
practices involved. Some examples include -
·
Pictures - are photographs of child=
ren
in naked or sexual poses art or pornography?
·
A recent case in
·
‘Research’ - Sexual
responses of children have been misrepresented and there is abundant contro=
versy
regarding the ‘Kinsey’ findings which had hitherto been regarde=
d as
standards since the revelation that one of the workers ‘testing’
youth was in fact a paedophile.
·
‘Harmless’ - Paedophiles
have argued that sex with children is harmless and that children like it - =
that
it is an initiation and thus desirable. Many controversies exist and there =
have
been examples including an
·
Statistics - - Criminologists and
Academics - Have
stated that society over reacts to nudity and there has been no new pornogr=
aphy
in recent years - Such criminologists include a gentleman who turns out to =
be
on the board of the British False Memory Association and is the author of a
book ‘Sadomasochism’ which states among other things that
sadomasochistic sexual practices including bondage, whipping, humiliation, =
ice,
hot wax, burns, branding are neither violent nor dangerous. Other
‘academics’ who have been involved have been discovered to be
members of the Paedophile group ‘Paedika&=
#8217;.
·
Prevention - the seriously flawed
argument here is that pornography may be used in prevention in that offende=
rs
viewing pornographic material and fantasising about their practices will be
able to ‘split’ fantasy from behaviour and thus not re-offend. =
In
practice most professionals would agree that the opposite is true and that
viewing pornographic material incites offending behaviour.
·
‘Treatment’ - a related
argument based on the same principles as prevention - =
that
pornographic material can be used for treatment of offenders.
·
Education - pornographic material h=
as
been suggested as useful for educating students in
=
Reports
- International basis - Reports of sexual exploitat=
ion
and paedophilia have come from a variety of sources - these following provi=
de a
few examples of the range of problems but also naturally only relate to tho=
se
exposed by the police - it begs our imagination to think what else lies
uncovered.
·
In the
·
In
·
·
In
·
An Interpol and UNICEF report in
·
Holland April 97 British paedophiles
were found to have killed five in ‘snuff’ movies and boys were
being imported from London and eastern Europe and sold in England and Holla=
nd
·
In
·
USA Dallas July 97 120 million doll=
ars
damages was awarded against a Roman Catholic diocese involved in paedophilia
and a ‘link up’ organisation.
·
·
This just gives a short outline of =
the
problems we are facing in looking at exploitation of youth - certainly it s=
eems
to be a problems which we need to face on an
International basis and this institute would seem to be a suitable venue for
collaboration and sharing of ideas and experiences. Hopefully we will be ab=
le
to begin to formulate some recommendations for future work and possibly
intervention.
The Problems in
=
Gustavo
Girard -
After investigating the databases o=
f
Exploitation is submission, not jus=
t to
violence - but submission to someone stronger (in mind or body) than
another. (like
Cain and Abel from Genesis)
Adolescents have been the same for
centuries - a misquote from 500BC says that
‘Young people speak roughly, insult, have no manners etc’. What has
changed is not the adolescents, but adolescence. Pre war (2nd WW=
)an adult male was equated with glasses, age, money,
knowledge and a big belly. The idea was to save for the future, study for t=
he
future and make money for future. Industrialisation for=
the
future.
Nowadays in post industrial era - m=
ost
important thing is ‘today is the future’. The present is paramo=
unt,
everything is recyclable. Adolescence is no longer a transition - everyone =
wants
to be a adolescent. People desire youthfulness not age=
. Models are getting younger and you=
nger
and are now just 16 yrs old, or younger rather than adults, what we see con=
stantly
in the media is adolescence.
Children want to be adolescents not adults. Everyone tries to wear adolescent
clothes rather than the clothes of their age - from babies to adults. Religion and spirituality are chan=
ging -
people are seeking new religions.
A
Current View of Exploited Youth.
=
=
Victims
of exploitation
either
=
=
React to the system (An active or passive reaction)
=
or Accept the
system.
=
Presentation - Under-nourishment<= o:p>
=
&=
nbsp; Poverty
(misery)
=
&=
nbsp; Victims
of violence
=
&=
nbsp; Street
Youth
=
&=
nbsp; sexual abuse and prostitution
=
&=
nbsp; illiteracy
=
&=
nbsp; family problems
=
Reaction&nb=
sp; Violent
- illegal - murder
=
&=
nbsp; abusers
=
&=
nbsp; exploiting others
=
&=
nbsp; survival sex
=
&=
nbsp; becoming fundalmentalistic=
=
&=
nbsp; rescuers of society
=
Passive&nb=
sp; Suicide
=
&=
nbsp; depressive
=
&=
nbsp; killed
=
&=
nbsp; Adolescent
mothers
=
&=
nbsp; Drug
abuse and addicts
=
&=
nbsp; STD
& AIDS
=
&=
nbsp; allowing abuse
In
Having said all of this however,
something is now changing.
Volunteers are trying help the youth. They are not looking to change the
world, but are trying to help youth recognise the need to change, the need =
for
self esteem, healthy lifestyles, cultural
development. Health teams mus=
t be
resilient, they believe in adolescents.&nb=
sp;
Need to works in a positive way to prevention if we are to help them=
. Youth exploitation =3D social
exploitation. It is not just youth it is everyone. It is clear that we can do some go=
od,
but we shall need more help from other areas.
Sexual exploitation of Youth in
=
Yuko Matsuhashi -
Minors under the age of 18 should be
protected by the
Another problem with exploitation of
youth is the sale of girls school uniforms which=
sell
in shops for maniacs (Men with fetishes). Girls are aware they can make mon=
ey
from their clothes and a percentage will sell their clothes including their
underwear The uniforms generally consist of
mini-skirts, white socks, sailor suit blouses and so on.
A third area of exploitation is thr=
ough
telephone clubs and contacting girls via their beepers and pagers. This is =
an
area which is expanding rapidly in
vibrating
in their pockets during class). It is noticeable that the percentage of you=
ng
girls with mobile phones is lower than in the US while the reverse is true =
for beepers.Looking at motivation 70% of young girls call=
ed a
telephone club because they are curious; 55% of young girls call telephone =
club
because they are bored; and 42% of 14 year olds say they do it to tease the=
man
on the phone
The young girls are not aware of the
morals. In 1995 23% thought t=
hat it
was OK to talk about sex and 60% thought it was a problem but if she wanted=
to
it was OK. Also in 1995 11% s=
aid
that prostitution was OK. In =
1997
44% said that their friends had suggested they call the telephone club. It is becoming clear that girls are
doing things because their friends say they should
Prostitutes who were under age are =
usually
higher middle class and appear to their parents and teachers as good,working hard and being
obedient at home. Those who have sex with school girls or use telephone clu=
bs
are high socials teachers, police, officials etc. In 1996 the main motivati=
on
for young girls to use the telephone clubs is money whereas previously it w=
as
curiosity. This is because girls are affected by mass media and commerciali=
sm.
They want designer clothes and money. They see themselves as a commodity and
can sell their bodies or be photographed. In
The Exploitation of Youth in
=
=
Richard
Brown -
San Francisco
The Exploitation of Youth in
Larkin street youth programme sees =
·
1,000 in 12 - 18 year age
·
1,000 in 18 - 24 year age
·
3,000 - 5,000 homeless youth in the
programme
One of the problems which we face is
the mobility of homeless kids. The adolescents which we deal with move about the West coast =
- and
don’t stay long in one area.&=
nbsp;
Thus it is hard to work through their issues with them. Our programm=
es
see 40% of younger youth come from other states, 60% from Programme services for these youth =
may
be outreach -specially night outreach programme; centre based services;or care management
services. The term is no longer ‘high risk youth’ it is
‘youth in high risk situations’. Night outreach
staff travel around the area of Centre based services Case Management
- an ongoing provider and relationship. Exploiters can be every kind of per=
son!. There=
is a
need to break down of the barriers that exist in society - to combine and work togethe=
r -
hospitals, housing, employment etc. Street Drugs - Speed is highest in the
Tenderloin district; Heroin, alcohol and Pot are highest in the We have found a massive denial of
sexual abuse. It is clear that we have to ask the questions. We also have t=
o be
assertive to bring out their fears and problems. We need to be diligent. It=
is
clear that it covers the entire spectrum of socio-econo=
mics,
there are no longer any specific groups which we can target.
Adolescent Prostitution in
=
Meng
Chi Lee -=
In a rapidly changing society,
adolescent prostitution has been one of the matters of great concern in
Epidemiological studies found that
factors related to adolescent prostitution include poor family economic sta=
tus
(especially in aborigines) run-away, being raped and drug abuse. Fortunately
the ‘child and teenager prostitution prevention act’ has been
implemented since August 1995 and a number of midway homes and rescue hotli=
nes
have been established to host and protect adolescent prostitutes. Adolescent
health care providers are now working in schools, midway homes, community
mental health centre and adolescent health clinic at varied settings attemp=
ting
to intervene in the exploitation of youth.
Summary of discussion points and General Conclusions:-
=
Diana
Birch
We have had a very interesting
institute and quite some time for discussion so I think it is now time for =
us
to pull together perhaps some of the threads that have run through some of =
the
presentations. We started off=
by
looking at how exploitation can occur on a number of different levels. How it can be financial, sexual,
etc. And I think one of the i=
ssues
which has come across is how exploitation of any=
kind,
including the more extreme forms such as paedophilia and pornography can oc=
cur
in any level of society. When=
we
talk about any level, it is any level for the perpetrators and any level for
the victims. As we said, some=
times
the difficulty in sorting this out is that the victim can be seen as the on=
e at
fault or the one indulging in a crime, being involved in a crime, such as y=
oung
prostitutes, or the perpetrator can be the one who is subject to the crimin=
al
system. So it does make it ve=
ry
difficult to sort out.
Another thing that has come through
loud and clear is the danger involved.&nbs=
p;
In looking at exploitation, and looking particularly at sexual
exploitation, this is not only danger for the young people who are indulgin=
g in
it, but also it would appear, danger for the professionals like ourselves w=
ho
are involved, because it occurs on all levels of society. We can have
perpetrators, paedophies etc who are involved, =
not
only in support services for young people, and are therefore trying to pick=
up
young people that way, in children’s homes, schools, church, and even=
as
donors to safe houses, free clinics etc, and when we come, as professionals=
to
expose these people we can actually expose ourselves to danger on a number =
of
levels, including of course physical threats. Because what we are doing in effect, is that we are not only exposing someone’=
;s
activities which might well be illegal or immoral, we are depriving them
perhaps of livelihood and a lot of money.&=
nbsp;
Young prostitutes earn money for their pimps,
prostitution is a major industry, as is child pornography. And behind the issue of money and
finance is the issue of power.
It is a power game when young people
are exploited, and they can be exploited, by financial means as we have loo=
ked
at but also politically. Not =
only
do young people have a vote and therefore this is a political issue, but al=
so
politics and covert politics come in on the level of paedophilia and
pornography - with even
We have been a small group this
afternoon, but this has been a very intense matter that we have been
discussing, and I think that we have actually got a lot out of it. We have discussed how we have all =
been
on a bit of a rollercoaster this afternoon, with
feelings running in a positive direction, feeling we are all together
discussing this, that we are actually getting something out of this, and ma=
y be
we can make some changes. The=
n,
have fallen down into the depths (of despair almost) when we see how big the
problem is, how wide-reaching, how multi-disciplinary, across all sorts of
structures of society, and we feel like pawns in the game, quite helpless a=
nd
powerless.
To come to this group has needed so=
me
sort of courage from us all, in that we have managed to tackle these very
difficult subjects, and it has been a very hard afternoon, and it is quite
revealing, that although last year a number of people asked for this sessio=
n,
actually only a small number have been able to come in and discuss this iss=
ue
out in the open. We have seen=
time
after time in the papers we have been looking at and items that we have been
discussing, how so much of these issues are covert. I think that sometimes as professi=
onals
we can collude with the covert nature because we don’t really want to
face some of the wider issues.
These issues are world wide. We have looked at the mobility of =
the
problem, particularly again when we are looking at the sexual exploitation.
Dick Brown was talking about young people who are homeless who are exploited
very much by society, who are very mobile, going up and down the west coast
from
We tried to look at what exploitati=
on
means and the definition is, and that was very difficult because of the way=
it
comes in on so many different levels of society, and maybe some of the minor
points of exploitation, like children in advertising and seeing pictures of
school girls who have still got their underwear on, are smaller matters that
maybe in a way collude with the larger exploitation and that if we allow th=
ese
small covert means of exploitation to continue without challenging them, we=
are
in a way condoning the larger offences and giving the perpetrators excuses =
to
continue with their activities.
They say ‘Well if that is ok, then this is ok’ and you
increase step by step to something which is wholly unacceptable and
abusive.
Generally speaking what we have sai=
d is
that by exploiting youth we are removing their rights. We are removing their power.
A more difficult issue arose when we
discussed what we might do about the problem. Is this a public health
issue? Is it a legal issue?
We separated out advocacy from law,=
in
a way, because advocacy was linked to education, and perhaps this was a way
forward for us as well. To ed=
ucate
children from a very young age, from kindergarten etc, in ways of resisting
exploitation of making sure that they don’t get into things they
don’t want to, but on the other side, we also have the seductive,
addictive dependency aspect of being in this situation, just like an abused
child in a children’s home or in a family doesn’t know anything
else and can then become quite seductive, and is also stuck in that level of
functioning, that kind of structure.
We needed to look therefore at the
social structure as a whole. =
There
were suggestions of working with the family. A lot of these kids don’t ha=
ve
families. We need to therefor=
e work
with the surrogate family - the children’s home, the social workers e=
tc -
but those are levels where paedophiles can infiltrate in. So the structure of society is
important.
In may cultures as we have seen, wh=
ere
there is a lot of exploitation, one of the things is that the value system =
has
gone, so how do we put that back in?
We have heard from Yuko in
One of the things which came up was
anger towards young people, and that was possibly anther reason why some pe=
ople
did not come to this session.
But this is a very difficult problem and very difficult to tackle.
So just to close I need to say that=
in
1996 we had a conference run by Youth Support in
Proceedings of our conference 1996
Youth - Our Resource for the Future
Now available from Youth Support
- £5 by mail order -
write to YSH 13 Crescent Ro=
ad
London BR3 2NF
or FAX 0181 659 3309
or E mail us at
Lisa@youthsupport.demon.co.uk
The Journ=
al of
Adolescent Health and Welfare
is published
by:- Youth Support, 13, Crescent Road,
Tel No 01=
81 650
6296 =
Charity No 296080 =
Fax No 0181 659 3309