Adrien Taquet, Secretary of State in charge of child protection, received us to lift the veil on a subject still too often taboo on the occasion of the broadcast of the Fugueuse series on TF1.
Underage prostitution does not only happen to others. The associative sector estimates the number of underage prostitutes in a range of 7,000 to 10,000, a figure which may be alarming but which is perhaps below reality.
aufeminin.com: TF1 is broadcasting from this Thursday, September 23, 2020 a series, Fugueuse, on the prostitution of minors, do you think that today there is a need for pedagogy?
ADRIEN TAQUET: During my appointment I identified that there was a subject, a blind spot, it must be said that it is a complex subject. In particular, I met the ACPE, the association for the fight against the prostitution of minors, which participated in the report. I told myself that society was not aware of the subject. Violence against children is one of the pillars of my policy. So I find it very interesting that television is seizing on these subjects, at prime time.
“The first issue is to make it an issue”
In October, you are going to announce measures following a report, can you tell us about its content? I was struck by the fact that the victims did not always recognize themselves as such …
This report is very rich. There is indeed a tendency to downplay the subject. Identify the subject with a problem in cities, or networks, but without thinking that it happens to our children … it happens in cities, but also in peri-urban areas, in the middle class, in a loving family … which we see very well in the series.
What we also see are problems of bullying at school, sexual assault, cases where self-esteem is at stake. Becoming aware of this is the big stake: spotting the signs, the weak signals. . We see it in the TV movie Runaway, there are things: behavior at school, running away …
Is there a typical profile?
Many minors in family breakdown. Children with serious emotional deficiencies, dysfunctional family contexts. But this concerns all social circles. There is a difficulty in becoming aware of the status of victim. Moreover, these young women say they have chosen prostitution, not to suffer it. They talk about cheating, escort girl. Words that hide the less glamorous reality. Often there are grip problems.
In October, you are going to announce measures following a report, can you tell us about its content? I was struck by the fact that the victims did not always recognize themselves as such …
This report is very rich. There is indeed a tendency to downplay the subject. Identify the subject with a problem in cities, or networks, but without thinking that it happens to our children … it happens in cities, but also in peri-urban areas, in the middle class, in a loving family … which we see very well in the series.
What we also see are problems of bullying at school, sexual assault, cases where self-esteem is at stake. Becoming aware of this is the big stake: spotting the signs, weak signals. . We see it in the TV movie Runaway, there are things: behavior at school, running away …
Is there a typical profile?
Many minors in family breakdown. Children with serious emotional deficiencies, dysfunctional family contexts. But this concerns all social circles. There is a difficulty in becoming aware of the status of victim. Moreover, these young women say they have chosen prostitution, not to suffer it. They talk about cheating, escort girl. Words that hide reality less glamorous. Often there are grip problems.
“The Zahia effect”
How to prevent this phenomenon?
There is a form of trivialization among young people, via the culture of porn … very early access to porn. The average age is 11 years old … that means that there is later but also earlier. With regard to minors, we must ask ourselves the question of access to minors. This culture shapes the relationship to sexuality, but also the relationship between men and women, and a risk of porn becoming glamorized … what is called the Zahia effect. There is a whole environment carried by reality TV, social networks …
In the report, there is also the subject of platforms, can you tell us more?
Social networks facilitate the customer / victim relationship, Airbnb also they are facilitators, what is their responsibility? It’s a question. They are in the chain. At the very least, you have to put the subject down and make them responsible. Likewise for hotels … they are part of the equation.
It is a complex subject, with other ministries we will announce a plan in mid October. There will be several components: on the subject of repression in particular, the question of repression of customers when it comes to minors …
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