Runaway Kids and Teenage Prostitution: America's Lost, Abandoned, and Sexually Exploited Children (Contributions in Criminology and Penology)

228 Pages·2001·9.91 MB·English

by  R. Barri Flowers

Runaway Kids and
Teenage Prostitution
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Runaway Kids and
Teenage Prostitution
America's Lost, Abandoned,
and Sexually Exploited Children
R. BARRI FLOWERS
PRAEGER Westport, Connecticut
London
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Flowers, Ronald B.
Runaway kids and teenage prostitution : America's lost, abandoned, and sexually
exploited children / R. Barri Flowers.
p. cm.—(Contributions in criminology and penology, ISSN 0732-4464 ; no. 54)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-31492-6 (alk. paper)
1. Runaway teenagers—United States. 2. Teenage prostitution—United States.
I. Title. II. Series.
HV1431.F58 2001
362.74—dc21 00-069131
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2001 by R. Barri Flowers
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without
the express written consent of the publisher.
A hardcover edition of Runaway Kids and Teenage Prostitution is available from
Greenwood Press, an imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (Contributions in
Criminology and Penology, Number 54, ISBN 0-313-31492-6).
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-069131
ISBN: 0-275-97342-5
First published in 2001
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
@"
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
To the one who keeps the sun shining in my life
and times even during rainy days. Love you, S.S.
And to those dedicated to preventing child abuse
and getting runaway and prostituted youth off
the streets and into a safe, responsible environment.
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Contents
Figures and Tables ix
Preface xi
Introduction xiii
I. The Dynamics of Running Away 1
1. The Scope of Runaway Youth 3
2. The Extent of Throwaway Kids 17
3. Runaways, Arrest, and the Police 29
4. Why Teens Run Away from Home 41
5. The Perils for the Teenage Runaway 51
6. Theoretical Approaches to Running Away and Teenage
Prostitution 59
7. Policy, Practice, and Response to Runaway and Prostitution
Involved Teens 73
II. The Dynamics of Teenage Prostitution 83
8. The Nature of Teenage Prostitution 85
9. Teen Prostitutes, Arrest, and the Criminal Justice System 95
10. Girl Prostitution 107
viii Contents
11. The Pimp's Role in Teenage Prostitution 119
12. Boy Prostitution 129
HI. Correlates of Running Away and Teenage Prostitution 141
13. Child Sexual Abuse 143
14. Child Pornography 155
IV. The Law and Combating Teenage Prostitution 163
15. Laws and the Prostitution of Teenagers 165
V. Runaway Youth and Prostituted Teens in Other Countries 175
16. Runaways and Teenage Prostitution Globally 177
Bibliography 189
Index 201
Figures and Tables
FIGURES
1.1 Age of Broad Scope Runaways 9
1.2 Race and Ethnicity of Broad Scope Runaways 10
1.3 Race and Ethnicity of Juvenile Facility Runaways 11
1.4 Household Income and Broad Scope Runaways 12
1.5 Family Structure of Broad Scope Runaways 13
2.1 National Annual Incidence of Thrownaway Youth 20
2.2 Cross-Classification of Broad Scope Runaway and
Thrownaway Children 21
2.3 Age of Broad Scope Thrownaways 22
2.4 Age of Abandoned Thrownaways 23
2.5 Race and Ethnicity of Broad Scope Thrownaways 24
2.6 Family Structure of Broad Scope Thrownaways 25
3.1 Arrests of Runaways, by Age, 1998 30
3.2 Arrests of Runaways, by Age and Sex, 1998 31
3.3 Arrests of Runaways, by Race, 1998 32
3.4 Arrests of Runaways, by Community Size, 1998 33
3.5 Ten-Year Arrest Trends of Runaways, 1989-1998 34
3.6 Five-Year Arrest Trends of Runaways, 1994-1998 34
3.7 Ten-Year Arrest Trends of Runaways, by Sex, 1989-1998 35
3.8 Arrests of Juveniles for Runaway-Related Offenses, 1998 36