© 2013
— Underage girls forced into the sex trade are victims and survivors.
— Our niche of support focuses on adolescent girls. Although the term ‘children’ may sound more compelling, it addresses a much broader and more general group of victims. The victims and survivors we work to support and protect should be referred to as adolescent girls, underage girls or girl victims of domestic child trafficking, girls victimized by sex traffickers or girls forced into the sex trade.
— These girls are not teen prostitutes, child prostitutes, criminals, hookers or any other negative term journalists use to sensationalize the real story. They are victims. Law enforcement and elected officials should be educated and well-versed in the appropriate language so it is eventually incorporated into bills, resolutions, regulations and laws.
— Only adults are capable of making the decision to willfully engage in prostitution. A girl who is too young to consent to sex can never be categorized as a prostitute – only a victim.
— Girls forced into the sex trade and victimized by traffickers are also survivors. These girls have suffered unimaginable fates, and referring to them as survivors can help empower them in their recovery from their emotionally defragmenting experience.