Giving a voice to adolescents in residential care: Knowledge and perceptions of commercial sexual exploitation and runaway behavior

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a multifaceted global phenomenon in which adolescents involved in the child welfare system form a high risk population. However, studies conducted in European countries remain scarce. We recruited a sample of 67 adolescents (50.7% girls and 47.8%...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Pereda Beltran, Noemí, Codina, Marta, Díaz-Faes, Diego A., Kanter, Bárbara
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2022
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositório:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/208427
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/208427
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Centres d'acolliment
Prostitució infantil
Adolescents
Estat del benestar
Infants
Almshouses
Child prostitution
Teenagers
Welfare state
Children
Descrição
Resumo:Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a multifaceted global phenomenon in which adolescents involved in the child welfare system form a high risk population. However, studies conducted in European countries remain scarce. We recruited a sample of 67 adolescents (50.7% girls and 47.8% boys) aged between 13 and 18 years old (<em>M </em>= 15.8; <em>SD </em>= 2.2) in residential care in the child welfare system in the south-east of Spain, and surveyed them about their runaway behavior, knowledge and perception of CSEC, and possible related preventive measures. Using a mixed-methods approach, we found that 47.8% of the adolescents reported having run away from the residential center and 92.5% knew someone that had run away. A total of 71.6% of the adolescents were aware of the problem of CSEC, and demanded more education and protection. They highlighted various motivations for engaging in this type of behavior. The use of ICT emerged as an important risk factor to take into account in prevention programs.