For Immediate Release / Media
Advisory
Contact: Alexandra Datig
(213) 446-2980 / alex@highroadla.com
FBI raids on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children should exclude the term “Child Prostitute” in the Media and be replaced with term Prostituted Children
Los Angeles, California, July 29,
2013 – Today the Federal Bureau of Investigations announced more than 100
children have been rescued from human traffickers during Operation Cross
Country. In the national sweep, which included the state of California,
human traffickers who sold minors for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery,
were arrested along with guns and drugs.
Alexandra Datig, who is part of the
County of Los Angeles Task Force for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
and a human trafficking survivor herself, is working on treatment programs,
advising on federal strategy to combat human trafficking. Datig
recommends the following urgently needed changes in the news media
in how the public perceives the commercial sexual exploitation of
children. “I applaud the FBI for their monumental efforts in combating
the child sexual exploitation. After today’s FBI press briefing the
children who were rescued from human traffickers were referred to as ‘child
prostitutes’ in the local and national media. Unfortunately, there is no
such thing as a child prostitute. The children rescued in today’s raid
were prostituted children with the rights of children. They are
children and should not be labeled prostitutes as he or she is not at the age
of consent and therefore could never be called a prostitute. It is also a
major cause of re-traumatization for a child to hear he or she has been labeled
a child prostitute by local and national media and we must do everything we can
to change this unintentional consequence.”
Recommending the change of this
language to all media and public outreach offices is part of the federal
strategy recommendations to combat human trafficking and is recommended by all
groups engaged in educating the public on the commercial sexual exploitation of
children.
For more information about
Alexandra Datig visit: www.highroadla.com
