The Sexual Exploitation of Children

The issue of child sexual exploitation has recently become a focus of international concern. Alarm and outrage have been expressed about an apparent increase in child prostitution and pornography in various countries including Britain and the United States. This book examines recent evidence on the sexual exploitation of children in the light of relevant theoretical and ethical considerations. The author situates the problem within the context of recent debates concerning childhood, sexuality and the family, and then analyzes the evidence for the involvement of children in prostitution, sex tourism and pornography. She argues that child sexual exploitation must be viewed in the broader social context of power relations between men and women, between elders and juniors, between classes and between races.