The STOPLight

We don't have that in our town!

Building our house a little higher on the bank could save us all the time and money of digging our flooded house out of the mud. This foresight is possible only when we recognize the potential for a flood. In the same way, if we seek to prevent people_ from being exploited through prostitution, we must recognize that every community has members who are involved in some way. Then we can be realistic about the possibility that someone we love may get hurt -- and work to keep it from happening.

Following are eleven ways that a community may be involved in prostitution -- and many people are unaware that it exists -- or don't recognize it in all its forms.

1. Parents, teachers and leaders set examples, directly and indirectly, that encourage youth to become customers of the     sex industry without even considering the harm that is caused by their actions -- or non-actions.
2. Child sexual, physical or emotional abuse is kept secret, making kids vulnerable to exploitation by predators.
3. Child sexual, physical or emotional abuse is kept secret, making kids vulnerable to exploitation by predators.
4. Children grow up physically and emotionally neglected or feeling unloved. This makes them vulnerable to people who offer them attention, validation and love in order to exploit their bodies.
5. Children are brought up with the assumption that they are safe if they stay in the right areas. When they are shielded from reality, they don't develop the survival skills they need to protect themselves in the real world.
6. Children are taught to be nice to everyone, to trust that every adult they meet has their best interests at heart. They respond openly to articulate, fast-talking, humorous, friendly con men and women without suspecting they are being set up. They have no defense against "nice" people.
7. Some adults in the community are actively engaged in using the services of the sex industry:
   1. Men use people in prostitution, whether on the street, through escort services, saunas or massage parlors, or at parties.
   2. Men view pornography through magazines, films, videos, cable TV, on the Internet.
   3. Some use pornography to seduce or molest young children.
   4. Some frequent strip clubs.
   5. Some seek anonymous sex on the Internet or phone.
   6. Some businesses hire prostitutes to provide sexual favors for their customers.
8. Community members regard the sex industry as an "it" over there and stigmatize "it," leaving themselves positioned as "we" who have nothing to do with "it;" not responsible for "it," and unable to really talk about the ways "it" is actually affecting "us."
9. When young people leave the community, pressures may be put on them to work in the sex industry or be customers of it, and some yield to these pressures.
10. If not for money, there are some members of the community who are giving or demanding sexual favors in exchange for food, shelter, drugs, rides or jobs.
11. Family members of those trapped in the sex industry agonize helplessly in silence.

Do you still think that you don't have prostitution in your town? It's closer to home than you realize.

by Al Erickson, founder and director of Adults Saving Kids