How runaway children end up as prostitutes

Lois Lee, PhD, Founder & President of Children of the NIght, explains what leads children that runaway from home to end up as prostitutes
How Runaway Children End Up As Prostitutes
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How runaway children end up as prostitutes

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The biggest myth is that children become prostitutes because they run away from home. People need to understand that child prostitution starts at home. These children were sexually molested, oftentimes by their first caregivers, many times before they could even walk, oftentimes sold for drugs by their parents or traded for drugs. The sexual dignity has been taken from them, so by the time they’re pre-adolescents and they’re out in the community, prostitution is not a big deal to them. They’re trading something that has already been taken away from them, their sexual dignity, in exchange for something that is meaningful, which is money.

Lois Lee, PhD, Founder & President of Children of the NIght, explains what leads children that runaway from home to end up as prostitutes

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Lois Lee, PhD, JD

Founder & President Children of the Night

Dr. Lois Lee is a pioneer and trailblazer in rescuing America’s sex trafficked children right here in the United States.  She is the founder and president of Children of the Night and has rescued over 10,000 children from prostitution—that is more children than all of the other sex trafficking organizations combined. Since 1979 she has raised more than $40 million in private donations to support her groundbreaking programs. Diplomats come from all over the world to observe Lee's ground-breaking work at the Children of the Night home. Dr. Lee has received countless awards for her humanitarian work, most notably the prestigious President's Volunteer Action Award, presented to her by President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1984, and permanent memorial portrait at the Frederick Douglas Museum honors her 1994 National Caring Award. Her life story was portrayed in a CBS Movie of the Week “Children of the Night” in 1985 and she was profiled on CBS “60 Minutes” in 1987. Dr. Lee was lauded by singer/songwriter Richard Marx in his song "Children of the Night," which appeared on his 1989 Repeat Offender album.

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Transcription: 
The biggest myth is that children become prostitutes because they run away from home. People need to understand that child prostitution starts at home. These children were sexually molested, oftentimes by their first caregivers, many times before they could even walk, oftentimes sold for drugs by their parents or traded for drugs. The sexual dignity has been taken from them, so by the time they’re pre-adolescents and they’re out in the community, prostitution is not a big deal to them. They’re trading something that has already been taken away from them, their sexual dignity, in exchange for something that is meaningful, which is money.