Very Young Girls

Houston Anti-Human Trafficking Trip

By Saralyn Salisbury

Tonight we watched the documentary “Very Young Girls.” The film featured girls who had been sexually exploited by pimps in New York City.

As stated multiple times throughout the film 13 is the average age of the girls who first enter prostitution. All of the girls featured in the film were underage when they entered prostitution.

I believe that this film truly confronts standard assumptions about prostitution in general. It is safe to say that most Americans would probably classify prostitutes as criminals. However, all of these girls were coerced, forced or pressured into this lifestyle. It is also the case that when a prostitute is underage they should automatically be classified as victims. So why then are the girls continuously arrested and serving harsh jail time when the johns that seek them serve little to no time?

IGNORANCE. Would these girls continued to be classified as criminals if we knew what they went through. If we knew that this lifestyle is not a choice and that the girls go through extensive brainwashing and manipulation.

One of the most striking things I noticed about the film was the difficulty that the girls faced in staying away from their pimp and previous lifestyle. These girls grew attached to their abusers and would often go back with nothing else keeping them away.

So how do we end this cycle?

Stay tuned for more blogs from the rest of our trip…