Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys

Attention to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in the U.S. has increased significantly with passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and its subsequent reauthorizations. Understandably, most of the focus of law enforcement, government, media, policy makers, service providers, researchers, and funders has been on commercial sexual exploitation of girls (CSEG).

Commercially sexually exploited boys (CSEB), on the other hand, who may be considered too few to be counted or not in need of help or services, has registered as a barely visible blip on the radar. The little attention paid to boys has focused on them as exploiters, pimps and buyers of sexual services or as active participants in sex work — not as victims or survivors.

In this workshop, Norene Roberts will discuss the research she completed for ECPAT USA, culminating in the publication of ECPAT USA’s 2013 discussion paper And Boys Too. Please join us for this discussion as we delve into the world of commercially sexually exploited boys. Please note: previous “CSEC 101” training is a helpful foundation for this workshop but not a necessity.