WUNRN
Gangs and Girls -
Canada
Groundbreaking book tracks chilling pattern in which young Canadian women are forced into prostitution – by men posing as their boyfriends
Mar 03, 2009
Teenage girls, some as young as 12 and 13,
are being forced into prostitution by
That is the startling revelation of two Canadian academics in the
groundbreaking Gangs and
Girls, Understanding Juvenile Prostitution published in February by
McGill-Queen's University Press.
Written by social worker Michel Dorais and criminologist Patrice
Corriveau, it is a follow-up to their 2006 French-language book on this topic, Jeunes filles sous influence.
Gang-involved youths were found to be pimping girls they had first groomed as
their girlfriends.
Dorais, a professor of social work at
Q: When I first saw the title Gangs
and Girls, I thought the book was about girls organizing crime sprees. But
it is about girls being prostituted by boy gangs. Why don't girls have their
own badass gangs?
A: There are some girl gangs
in the
Q: You talk about some juvenile prostitutes
who start off as thrill seekers and daredevils who are fairly independent. But
they can end up under the control of pimps anyway.
A: The daredevil may go to
the gang at some point for the clients or for protection. Some will stay
independent, be a daredevil all the time. We were very surprised by this
finding. Some girls think it is exciting, they know it is illegal and they can
make quick money.... For some of them it is almost an extreme sport. There are
different motives to get into prostitution.
Q: You describe a three-stage process in
turning a girl into a prostitute – the love bombing by the
"boyfriend," the gang sex and then the full-out prostitution. What
girl is going to agree to have sex with her boyfriend's friends or gang
members?
A: It is a long process. It
will take some time for a guy to convince the girlfriend to do the other
things, possibly after alcohol or drugs. Of course those girls, who are
victimized by this type of gang, are already victimized.
You are going to a gang for a reason. You have problems with your
family and social integration. You are already vulnerable. As we discovered,
there are a lot of different girls involved and they have a variety of reasons.
Some are from poor families, some from very rich families. We have found it is
a lot more complex than we thought.
Q: You talk about these girls' distorted
view of love – that they can think the pimp loves them while sending them out
to degrading work. How can that be?
A: That's the million-dollar
question. They say they did it for love. That's the proof of love for some
people, sadly. For a lot of them, they are so victimized already and looking
for love and really wanting to be loved – at the beginning those guys play on
that. I also work with adult sex workers and it is completely different. For a
lot of those women, it is a job. It gives them independence and
money.
Q: What are the ages of these girls and
boys?
A: The young men are 20 and
over and the girls are under 18, usually 16 and 17 although some were younger.
It is impossible to have statistics, it is so underground. We can only reach
those in contact with social services. We were told some of the girls started
at ages 12 and 13.
Q: The girls are called ``sluts,'' the
customers are "geezers" and ``perverts'' – both are held in disgust
by the other – what about the pimps? They seem to get some respect.
A: I'm not sure that we can
say they have respect from people but they seem to be forgotten – mostly we
talk of clients and girls. It's rare we talk specifically of the pimp. They
know they can be charged under the criminal code. Many have a tattoo with 212,
which is the criminal code section for pimping. Legally speaking, it is illegal
to have sex with juvenile prostitutes and it is illegal to manage a juvenile
girl – it's very, very clear.
Q: How did the girls escape?
A: After a while, they
realize it is too late and they have to find a way to get out. How to get out
is different from one girl to another. They need support, family help, they
need to take charge and live some success – they have to rebuild confidence in
themselves. In cases of threatening, we can do something because it is illegal.
There are a lot of programs and help out there.
Q: Prevention?
A: A lot have problems with
family. We have to listen to those girls, especially those who are foster
children. We have to find them before the gangs do. Gangs will offer them
money, a place to live, friends – everything they are looking for – and after
that everything will change. We have to give more resources to street workers
who are on the streets and in contact with them.
Q: What has happened since the French
edition was published?
A: We have added two new
chapters on prevention and a section on gangs. I am now teaching a master class
on gangs.
The more we talk about gangs, the more we are aware of kids
involved in gangs. Most of the time, they join gangs because of poverty,
exclusion and discrimination. We have been seeing that since the beginning of
20th century. We have to give to those guys a new model of manly values.
They need to see that a woman is an equal person. One of the main
reasons a young man quits a gang is to have a serious relationship with a woman
and to become a father.
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.