50 2 Police and Law Enforcement—-Juvenile Forensics
various perspectives on adult female prostitution, adolescent female prostitution is
an entirely different phenomenon. For example, with regard to adult prostitution,
feminist theories look at issues such as power relationships between men and women
and the lack of opportunities in the labor market for these women (Jesson, 1993).
Sereny (1984) explains that juvenile prostitution addresses the power differential
between adults and children who have not yet entered the work force. Although the
literature available on policing adolescent prostitution in the United States is sparse,
it is clear that the behavior of these juveniles cannot be appropriately considered
using theories of adult female prostitution.
The scope of juvenile prostitution in the United States is alarming. Cases like
Kara's are far too common. Police figures have estimated between 100,000 and
300,000 prostitutes under the age of 18 (Flowers, 1998). Nonofficial sources claim
that for children under the age of 16, the numbers are around half a million "with
the numbers doubling or tripling when including 16- and 17-year-old prostitutes."'
Approximately two-thirds of these prostitutes are female.
The research suggests a variety of contributing factors and motivations that: lead
to adolescent prostitution. The literature overwhelmingly suggests that prior to
entering prostitution, the vast majority of these girls suffered physical, emotional,
or, most frequently, sexual abuse (Flowers, 1998; Jesson, 1993; Schaffer & DeBlassie,
1984; Weisberg, 1985; Widom & Kuhns, 1996). The story of Kara illustrates how
many teenagers flee from a dangerous household to a dangerous lifestyle on the
streets as a prostitute. The Huckleberry House Project concluded that 90% of the
adolescent female prostitutes studied were sexually molested (Harlan, Rodgers, &
Slattery, 1981). Widom and Kuhns (1996) found that childhood neglect was also
a risk factor for entry into juvenile prostitution. These researchers indicated that
the children on the streets alone are more vulnerable to the lures offered by pimps
or other juveniles. "Early childhood abuse and neglect appear to place children at
increased risk of becoming prostitutes, which reinforces the importance of viewing
prostitution in a victimization context" (p. 161 1).
Jesson (1993) reports that sexual abuse leads to running away and the combination
of the two is critical in the juvenile's risk for entering prostitution. Researchers agree
that there is a strong correlation between running away and juvenile prostitution.
Many of these girls who leave home to escape abuse or to seek independence and
excitement quickly become prostitutes to pay for drugs, food, shelter, and the like
(Flowers, 1998). Some are lured by the sweet-talking pimp offering love, protection,
and companionship. Benson and Matthews (1995) suggest that the majority of
women enter street prostitution when they are "vulnerable and impressionable."
Other studies suggest that the primary reason these adolescents become involved in
prostitution is to support a drug habit (Bagley & Young, 1987).
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation's
Uniform Crime Reports for 1995 (1996), 504 females under 18 years old were arrested
for prostitution and commercialized vice and approximately 108,840 females under
the age of 18 were arrested as runaways. Far more female adolescents were arrested