Youth Prostitution In Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Youth Prostitution In Canada - Essay Example They believe they had to run as they find home life intolerable. None of these push factors alone; explain why they turn to prostitution. How and why they turn to be prostitutes is not that important as the importance of independent street life to them. What is attractive about street life is that it allows the runaway or disaffiliated youth a sense of belonging, a feeling of autonomy, and a means of financial independence. Most important of all, street prostitution provides a means of subsistence. And the fast and substantial money that it does bring to a core group of prostitutes symbolizes much that is cherished in mainstream materialist Western culture. (Davis, 1993, p. 72) According to the Canadian Women's Health Network, Prostitution and sex business in Canada is a multi-billion dollar market, which is developed annually on the basis of maintaining prostitution business at the rate of $400 million. (CWHN, June 2006) Prostitution alone does not refer to the social international issues, which are at continuous ignorance since 1980s in Canada, but it includes the involvement of male as well as females as customers, pimps and prostitutes. The dilemma is that after 20 years of implementing the policies for prostitution, it is still on a growing trend, where youth is deeply influenced by this profession. The matter of concern is what attracts the younger generation to get involved into sex trade and entering and exiting of youth into this profession are those facts, which are also responsible for health issues. According to factbook on Global sexual exploitation in Canada, "Most of the young girls that are trafficked and forced into prostitution in Canada are transmitted from city to city, from Seattle to San Francisco to Oakland to Phoenix to Honolulu and Portland. The pimps move them every 3-4 weeks". (Portland Police Officer Doug Kosloske, The Province, 19 December 1997) Statistics According to a report by Duchesne D., fluctuations are seen every year in the prostitution trend, which highlight the implementation of law and order according to jurisdiction. While giving example, she concludes, "between 1994 and 1995, the total number of prostitution incidents in Canada rose 29%, largely due to a substantial rise in communicating offences in Vancouver. But this increase followed two years of steep declines, mainly traced to Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary (in 1994), and Vancouver (in 1993)". (Duchesne, 2006) Due to the leniency of Canadian jurisdiction towards penalizing men in prostitution, since 1980s Canadian men are more motivated towards working in this profession either in the form of pimps, customers or male young prostitutes. Street Prostitution There are many concerns related with "sex work on streets" among which the major problem, which the public is confronted to, is its elimination from the public areas. Most of the people consider it private and so they support the view that "street prostitution" should not be in public places. Of course there are many reasons affiliated with the concern. Street Prostitution has been the most common problem in Canada since the actions, which were taken in 1980s. Those actions were not taken keeping in view the major reasons for as to why youth is getting involved into the