The word "prostitution" dates back to the year 1553. Webster's dictionary defines it as the act or practice of indulging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money or the state of being prostituted. Prostitution probably deserves the title of the oldest profession in the world. In contrast, if prostitution is the world's oldest profession, then child prostitution is the world's greatest tragedy. History has shown the sexual exploitation of children to be one of our most enduring shameful phenomenon's (Flowers, pg. 25).
Many societies throughout the ages have condoned and actively encouraged the use of minors for sexual purposes. In ancient Egypt the most beautiful and highest born maidens were forced into prostitution as a religious practice, and they continued as prostitutes until their first menstruation. In China and India, children were routinely sold into prostitution by their parents, and for centuries Persia was renowned for its boy brothels. Child brothels and freelance teen prostitution flourished in Europe during the nineteenth century. The prostitution of children in the United States did not become widespread until the early nineteenth century. Today, teenage prostitution is a staple of American society as millions of runaways, homeless children, drug-addicted teens, and perverse male customers converge, in spite of the threat of AIDS, to keep the child sex industry alive and well (Flowers, pg. 59).
Child prostitution is generally defined as the participation, for pay or barter, by minors (usually under the age of 18) in sexual acts with adults or other minors where no force is used. This includes intercourse, oral copulation, and sodomy. It is estimated that there are well over one million teenagers active as prostitutes. Many have been abused and are runaways or throwaways. A number of children are believed to have been abducted for purposes of child prostitution and sexual slavery (Flowers).
