Are child prostitutes child workers? A case study

an article by Dr Heather Kate Montgomery published in International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy Volume 29 Issue 3/4 (2009)
This was a special issue on “Child work in the twenty-first century: dilemmas and challenges”

Abstract

Purpose
Based on a case study of a small community in Thailand this article analyses the explanations that child prostitutes give for selling sex. It looks at whether child prostitution can be considered as a form of labour and if children themselves understand what they do as work or exploitation. It focuses on children’s relationships within their families and argues that international legislation calling for child prostitution to be abolished, while well meaning, is too simplistic and does not deal with the complex social relations underpinning prostitution and the lack of alternatives for many children.

Design/methodology/approach
This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation among a small group of child prostitutes in Thailand.

Findings
Certain children have very different understandings of prostitution to those campaigning to end the practice. They do not see prostitution as a form of work or necessarily as a form of abuse. Instead they claim it as a way of fulfilling perceived social and moral obligations to their families.

Research limitations/implications
The importance of listening to children themselves, even on such sensitive and emotive issues, is paramount as it reveals a gap between ground level realities and proposals put forward in international legislation.

Originality/value
The growing literature on child prostitution rarely takes into account children’s own perspectives. This article engages directly with children and takes seriously their own justifications and rationalisations.

Hazel’s comment:
If prostitution is “work” in the sense that most people understand this term then surely it should be subject to the laws which govern work. But doesn’t that legalise an activity that many people find repugnant? On the other hand child labour, as experienced by young people in many developing countries, is also something which we Westerners find hard to understand. I feel as though I could end up contradicting myself on this issue. How about you?

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