Plus it can be a bit illusory to talk in terms of shared experiences when even within the sex trade there are so many experiences. I think some youth have had negative experiences with adults who have gotten their knowledge from a book (if they even have knowledge) and that feels frustrating.

I absolutely agree with you on this. The same is true for just about anything you need to really reach out to adolescents for, including I might add, standard sex education.

I’ve often reflected on this subject myself. As an individual I enjoy talking to adolescents/young adults as they often are less guarded in what they may choose to share than an adult may be. I have also found the average young adult is more likely to be open about their feelings good or bad when in the conversation.

I believe it is empowering for youth to have peers trained as a resource in areas where they may be seeking support or information. I too have found many of the youth with whom I work identify what is most important to them is talking to someone who is “nonjudgmental, supportive, with helpful resources”.

In my experience we can not always have shared life experiences, and sometimes this may even offer a fresh perspective. Empathy and respect for the others’ experience can allow us to discuss dilemmas and possible solutions or alternatives in a nonjudgmental way.

I don’t think the youth workers in homeless and runaway youth programs thought the youth were wrong for taking pictures or video of themselves taking off clothes. Just like it’s not wrong for youth to survive through stripping/exotic dancing.

More that it’s kinda weird to have a company support youth who have to rely on trading sexual stuff like stripping for survival by encouraging youth to do a version of stripping themselves.

Again you offer a perspective to which I can relate. The “you owe me and now I am collecting” is a strategy I’ve seen used on the young people with whom I’ve worked. The other is “I see what you need for the baby, or to pay your rent”; then there is the adult who knows the assistance or pay cheque only covers the very bare expenses, and few of the needs, and utilizes this knowledge to have sex with the young person.

Youth who have been abused and/or in the “system” tend to have fragile boundaries and beliefs regarding their self worth. This is not surprising when the adults in their lives may have abused trust by physically, sexually and/or emotionally abusing them.

I agree that the strategies which may encourage youth who are actively involved in the sex trade vs. those who are trading sex to survive financial challenges probably could be different. At the end of the day, however, it’s all about survival and until our society and politicians recognize the issues (poverty, marginalization, education etc.) surrounding children and youth need to be prioritized, youth will continue to be at risk for abuse of adult power.

These concerns reinforce the importance of standards, supervision, on-going staff and supervisor training and the need for careful screening and hiring, then monitoring of staff. This has been the norm within settings where I have worked. Individuals who are not working with the best clinical interests of the youth in the program are quickly weeded out.

I agree with you also when you remind us that pimps often use violence to control youth. I suspect the populations with whom we have worked have made us cognizant of the many layers of needs, risks, and various unknowns which surround at risk and street youth and are perpetuated by the lack of value our society and governments appear to place on children and those who are marginalized for a variety of reasons.